Condition of Youngstown Police building spark concerns

Concerns over the safety of the Youngstown Police building caught the attention of the union that represents municipal employees. 

Several staff members with the department are calling attention to the poor condition of the 94-year-old building, with a safety service complex still potentially in the works.

Youngstown's Safety Committee meeting was met with demands to improve the dilapidated condition of the Youngstown Police Department.

You may remember several offices were affected by flooding back in 2022. And no one likes working with roaches and rats burdening the West Boardman Street property. Contractors even abandoned jobs at the property after hitting a roach's nest. Plus, the condition of the police garage has several employees with the department.

"I get down there and I look down and I immediately see all of the blacktop and all the holes," explained Karen Humphries, President of AFSME Local 2312.
There was probably more blacktop than there was a floor."

AFSME Local 2312 is worried about an unreliable elevator, that's been broken for months. Plus the tap water is undrinkable and the fire escape doesn't meet code. YPD explained no working elevator causes a distraction in investigating crimes.

"We were having victims come up there multiple times with injuries and felonious assaults," explained Mohammad Awad, Detective Sergeant with YPD. "And they can't crawl up the steps to get to the interview room."

"Should someone get sick or if they need an ambulance to come in, they can not get into the fourth floor or sixth floor," explained Debra Cato, Youngstown Police Clerk.

Councilman Jimmy Hughes said assistance from council could be limited, but he committed to looking to see what council can do.

A spokesperson for the city sent us this statement:

"The city has taken these concerns seriously and addressing them is a priority. The elevator is being entirely replaced, a needed investment based on its age, and we are contracted to start work in the garage and basement. But the fact is these are just band-aids given the age of the building and we can’t keep kicking the can down the road. That is why we worked so hard to try to make a new public safety center a reality. We hope to restart that conversation with council and address the concerns they had so we can finally make it a reality." -Spokesperson with the City of Youngstown.

The city acknowledges these are Band-Aid solutions. This comes as the city's progress to build its proposed safety service center remains stagnant. 

A solution that has a hefty price tag of more than $30 million, but would put the city's first responders in a safe environment that they continue to ask for.

The safety service complex has yet to be officially approved by Youngstown council. That construction could take about two years