Lease signed on property for Police Substation

The lease has been signed for the property which will house the new Community Police Substation in Willoughby Hills.

Mayor Robert Weger met with real estate developer J Scott Scheel on Dec. 19 to sign the lease.

Scheel is a managing member of Bishop Checkmate LLC, which owns the property located at 27701 Chardon Road where the station will go.

According to Scheel, he was the one who approached the city about leasing the space.

The terms of the lease allow the city the use of the property for the substation rent free for five years, with the option to add another years.

Additionally, Bishop Checkmate LLC, will handle all the structural upkeep of the property, and the maintenance of the grounds such as landscaping and snowplowing Scheel said. The city will be responsible for the operating components they need to support the chief and the staff.

“I had the opportunity to do some good,” Scheel said of his decision to the lease the building rent free.

“The biggest part of it is that it’s propping up the western edge of Lake County and making sure that it’s secure. If folks are going to visit, they are going to do so with the best attitude and the best demeanor and the best way to do that is to make sure we have law enforcement present and a good presence there to keep people acting accordingly.”

According to Scheel , he couldn’t think of a better use for the building than to make the patrons and employees of the surrounding businesses feel secure whether they were coming out to work at 6 a.m. or going to their cars at 11 p.m. after shopping.

“It’s a win-win for everybody involved,” said Police Chief Chris Collins who is concerned for the safety of his officers. “We have a lot of calls that we respond to in this end of the city and by keeping them here and giving them everything they need to function in an administration as well as occupational capacity is a great win for us.”

The officers will not have to be driving back and forth down the road to the main station to do administrative work and then go back to the area to patrol.

“Along with the mobile computers to this facility here we are going to be in the heart of everything that is happening down here from a retail perspective to a residential perspective, “Collins said.

“There is no doubt in my mind this is a win-win for everyone involved and we are very grateful that Mr. Scheel, his company, his partners and the city have pulled together to make this happen.”

Calls to the mayor for comment have not yet been returned.