The Ohio University Police Department may face relocation to a wing of The Ridges’ central complex, if a series of proposed drafts are carried forward.
The department, which is currently on the first floor of Scott Quad, has long been dealing with spacial limitations.
“We are completely out of room at Scott Quad in every way imaginable,” OUPD Lieutenant Tim Ryan said in an email. “The Ridges would give us the space we need and even allow us room to grow in the future.”
The Ridges currently houses a number of university offices, including the Kennedy Museum of Art, the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs and the Small Business Development Center. If drafted plans are approved, proposed occupants may also include the division of finance, as well as the office for architecture, design and construction.
During a meeting of The Ridges Advisory Committee, Associate Vice President for University Planning Shawna Bolin outlined potential uses for buildings 13, 14 and 18 of The Ridges. The committee, which reports its recommendations directly to OU President Duane Nellis, is composed of representatives from OU, the City of Athens and the county.
Current drafts place OUPD in Building 13, a wing of the Kirkbride complex, which is the main structure that houses the Kennedy Art Museum.
During the August committee meeting, Joe Shields, dean of the Graduate College, spoke about a recent survey conducted to examine current and projected uses of The Ridges.
“What we’ve done is attempted to systematically survey people from the university about their current uses, their activities in that space and any potential uses they might anticipate in the future,” Shields said. “That … took us longer than we wanted … (and) has not uncovered a lot beyond what we knew at least some about.”
The top floors of buildings 13, 14 and 18 are occupied by studios used within the College of Fine Arts, as well as “lots of surplus storage,” Bolin said. Proposed renovations, which are still being reviewed, are estimated to cost the university $12.5 million, and may be complete by the end of 2019.
Working from Scott Quad has posed numerous challenges to OUPD’s daily operations, as Ryan discussed in the spring.
“It was obviously designed and built as a residence hall — not as a police department,” Ryan said. “The infrastructure is old. The technology is old. We’re running out of space. Our booking area is as far back as it could be, and we’d like it to be closer as an access point.”
Although a relocation to The Ridges would move the department’s headquarters away from the center of campus, Ryan said when officers are deployed on calls for service, they are typically out patrolling the campus by cruiser, bicycle or foot. When the central office receives a call, an officer close by is usually sent to the location.
“Perhaps the only remaining benefit to OUPD staying in Scott Quad is being centrally located on campus,” Ryan said. “We think the advantages we would gain in moving would far outweigh the benefit of staying in Scott Quad.”
