Wichita approves land buy for new police station; public use of track not mentioned
The Wichita City Council has approved buying vacant land at the former site of Southeast High School to replace the dilapidated Patrol East substation at Cypress Park.
On a 7-0 vote, the council acted on Police Chief Gordon Ramsay’s recommendation to buy five acres for $218,000.
Ramsay led the council through a litany of problems with the old station, which was built in the 1980s to accommodate 30-40 officers and now houses more than 100..
“There are some current issues with the building that include flooding, lack of locker space, very tight quarters,” Ramsay said. “The building just currently is not practical for modern-day policing. Officers frequently have to go home to change their clothes.”
Ramsay also noted the new site, near the southwest corner of Lincoln and Edgemoor, is close to the city’s east-side fueling facility, which is adjacent to the current police and fire stations at Cypress Park.
Not mentioned during the approval meeting was the fate of a running track adjacent to the property the city’s buying, which will still be owned by the school district.
Mayor Brandon Whipple said last week that city and USD 259 officials had discussed letting neighbors use the track once police are on-site to maintain security, but a district spokeswoman said the track won’t be made available for public use.
Southeast High School moved to its current site, at 2641 S. 127th St. East in 2016. The decision was hotly disputed at the time because the new school is at the district’s edge and much less accessible to students.
The former school building was converted for office use as the district’s headquarters in 2017, but much of the remainder of the property remains vacant and fenced off.
