Johnnie St. Vrain: Longmont police officers per square mile; apartments at Ninth and Pace
Sep. 25—Dear Johnnie: I realize some people are not happy with our police force. Could you please tell us how many miles of streets there are in Longmont, the square miles that the police department covers and how many officers are on duty at any given time?
If we had more officers that would help the crime rate go down. I realize Longmont is not like other cities for crime, but we definitely have our share. They keep building more homes and apartments, adding more streets and not hiring more officers. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. — CC
Dear CC: According to Jim Angstadt, the city's director of Engineering Services, the city has 354.96 miles of paved streets and under a mile of unimproved streets. The city is about 30 square miles.
Per Deputy Police Chief Jeff Satur, the department currently has about 64 officers, 12 sergeants and three commanders assigned to patrol to cover 365 days a year, 24-hour, seven days a week service to the Longmont community.
"Generally, we have between 10 and 22 officers working in patrol. This count does not include the traffic unit, school resource officers or detectives, and varies by time of day, and day of week," Satur said via email. "All commissioned officers could be asked to assist patrol with calls for service based on staffing levels."
Satur said that variables affect the number of officers in the patrol unit at any given time.
"The visibility of these officers can be impacted during the shift by court attendance, extended time on a call for service, arrests, significant accidents, in-service training, etc.," he said.
Satur said shifts are scheduled based on historical data for calls for service based on the time of day, day of the week and overlap of shifts.
So, CC, this isn't quite as simple as dividing the number of patrol officers by street miles or square miles. And if you're interested in applying, go to longmontcolorado.gov and search for "police officer job."
Johnnie: There is serious construction going on at a big lot at Ninth Avenue and Pace Street. A handmade sign says the address is 900 Pace. There is also a second lot being graded on the other side of the brick house that seems to be trapped between the two sites, and next to the fire station.
So what are they going to build, expected completion date, etc., and what will be the fate of the older brick house (and owners) that has clearly been there for many years, probably from when all of east Longmont was fields? — Nearby Neighbor
Nearby Neighbor: Both of those "lots" are part of the same development, which wraps around a couple of properties along Pace. That development, by the way, will be "120 multifamily dwelling units on approx. 11 acres," according to the city's development log, which you can access at longmontcolorado.gov. Search for "development log." Once you've found it, you can see a map of the parcel being developed. I don't know exactly when the development will be completed, but the sign on the fence says "Opening in 2024."
That property with the brick home is not owned by the developer. So, Neighbor, the future of that brick house is up to the homeowner.
Send questions to johnnie@times-call.com.
