City Council Approves Purchase Of Building For Shell Lake Police Department

SHELL LAKE, Wis. -- The Shell Lake City Council has unanimously approved the purchase of a building for the Shell Lake Police Department.

The Shell Lake Police Department, which currently has one small office inside the Shell Lake City Hall building, and a separate garage nearby, will soon have new digs in the form of their own building.

On Wednesday evening, July 27th, 2022, the Shell Lake City Council met and voted unanimously to purchase the Soar Counseling Services building located on Industrial Boulevard, which formerly housed Vitality Village.

The building is currently owned by Deb Nebel. Deb is also on the Shell Lake City Council. Due to the obvious conflict of interest, Deb recused herself from the voting process. A second City Council member was not in attendance for the meeting and therefore did not vote. Of the remaining six, the City Council voted unanimously 6-0 in favor of the purchase of, and renovations for, the project.

The City Council approved the purchase for $175,000 with an additional up to $125,000 for the needed renovations to accommodate the Shell Lake Police Department.

The City will be receiving bids for this project with the expectation that the renovations will begin later this year. Shell Lake City Administrator Andy Eiche told DrydenWire.com that although he believes there is a possibility for the Shell Lake Police Department to be fully moved into its new location by year’s end, the community should anticipate this transition to occur no later than the Spring of 2023 at the latest.

The new location, which is a standalone building with renovations included for a garage, will provide a multitude of benefits for the Shell Lake Police Department.

“Not only is having everything under one roof and at one location beneficial, the ability to have a squad garage, equipment storage, evidence process area, and a training area, is, quite frankly, invaluable to our department and our community,” said Shell Lake Police Chief Dave Wilson when DrydenWire.com asked about his views and thoughts on the benefits of the new building. Wilson added: “I am grateful to the city council members for not only their continued support of law enforcement in Shell Lake, and to our great city but also for their foresight and unanimous vote which shows their commitment to the needs of our department and services for which we provide to our community.”