Building a new headquarters for the Washington Police Department — and finding the money to pay for it — is the city’s No. 1 challenge, according to the Washington City Council and Mayor Mac Hodges.

The new police department headquarters was at the top of a prioritized list of challenges, issues and opportunities facing the city, with that list developed by the council and mayor during a retreat held Saturday at Washington-Warren Airport. The retreat was facilitated by David Long, who has been a professional planner since 1974, including 30 years with the North Carolina Department of Commerce. He also has served as a retreat facilitator for numerous North Carolina counties and municipalities.

The other top issues, winnowed from an initial list of 34 issues, challenges and opportunities identified by the council members and mayor, include the following (in descending priority):

• developing a vision and plan for the city covering the next 20 years;

• addressing drainage issues in the city;

• improving and enhancing the downtown  area (keeping it clean) so residents and visitors will want to return there;

• determining whether the city will continue to operate and maintain the city-owned pool with its associated costs;

• addressing the aging infrastructure downtown (old water lines, sewer lines);

• better maintain city facilities and remove those facilities that are beyond repair and/or no longer useful;

• City Council set a positive tone in the relationship between the council and city employees.

The retreat’s format allowed each council member and the mayor to provide individual input without interruption and comment by the others. Once that input was provided, then discussion about that input was used to help determine the top issues and prioritize them. A scoring system determined the top priorities. Many of those priorities have a connection to tourism, according to the council members and mayor.

The construction of a new police department headquarters has been discussed for many years, but in the past several years it has been a back-burner matter. Now it’s in the forefront again. So much so that the proposed city budget for the upcoming year includes funding to begin the process of building a new police station.

In 2011, the city suspended efforts to build a new police station, citing the lack of funds. In 2011, the total estimated cost of a new police station — construction, site preparation, soil analysis, architectural/engineering fees, moving costs and other fees — came to an estimated $4.3 million, according to figures provided to the council. The construction cost and site work cost combined came to $3.22 million. At the council’s March 8, 2011, meeting, the council decided it wanted the project cost closer to $3 million rather than $4.3 million.

The council was on record as supporting allocating $3 million for the new station, with $1 million in revenue coming from the city’s public-safety reserve fund, another $1 million borrowed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and $1 million from other sources, including grants.

The city has looked at building a separate police station or a facility that would house police, fire, rescue and EMS services.

For several years, the city has been setting aside part of its general-fund revenues into a reserve fund to help pay for capital expenditures such as building a new police station. Of the city’s property-tax rate of 50 cents per $100 valuation, just under 2 cents of that rate is designated for the city’s Public Safety Capital Reserve. Currently, that fund receives about $167,000 each fiscal year.

For additional coverage of the retreat, see future editions of the Washington Daily News.