COEUR d'ALENE - Interim Coeur d'Alene Police Department Chief Ron Clark got approval Tuesday to begin work on a police substation on Sherman Avenue.

The City Council unanimously approved Clark's plan, and the department will immediately begin purchasing and installing $45,000 worth of equipment and infrastructure needed to get the substation up and running. According to Clark, the monthly operating expenses for the building, located at 1424 E. Sherman Ave., will be approximately $1,590, with the first year of expenses and rent coming out of the department's salary savings.

"The police department appreciates the support of the mayor and council for the east Sherman substation," Clark told The Press on Wednesday. "We believe we can better serve our citizens in the southern area of the city with an increased presence in the area."

During the meeting, Clark cited the department's move to Schreiber Way in 1999 and the "disconnect to the downtown Coeur d'Alene area" it created as the primary reason behind the proposal.

Councilwoman Kiki Miller asked Clark if the current tenants in the building will be sharing the office space with the department.

The current tenants agreed to move to a separate office space in the same building in order to give the department a visible location with Sherman Avenue frontage, Clark said.

"It should be pretty well marked and visible in the area," Clark said, adding that he expects "much more foot traffic" at the new sub-station than the current department headquarters gets.

Clark asked the council for a five-year commitment to the sub-station and said that some of the 94 full-time department employees would be transferring to the new location.

Once completed, the sub-station will provide the department with a location where citizens can address their concerns, low-priority calls can be handled, and enable officers to quickly respond to calls in the southern part Coeur d'Alene.