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The Big One never came. But its threat inspired a new generation of public buildings designed to endure the inevitable devastation. Though delayed by a few months, the Ronald Tsukemoto Public Safety Building is scheduled for an early October occupation by the Berkeley Police Department and the Fire Department’s administrative team. 

“We love it,” says Captain Doug Hambleton of the Berkeley Police Department. “It’s earthquake proof. It means we can respond to emergency situations rather than being part of the emergency.” In addition, the new building would be wired for modern internet services, better access for the disabled and ensures public safety in the event of a massive power outage. 

The Tsukemoto building, a “base isolated edifice,” is designed “to stay in one place when the ground moves,” says Lorin Jensen, the supervising civil engineer. Equipped with power generators and enough fuel for 72 hours of off-grid operations, the building “will be up and running within seconds in the event of an earthquake-born power outage,” says Jensen. 

But the building was born of bureaucracy and ordained into existence not by the Berkeley public, but by a city judge, say critics. Its controversial beginnings, claims Kriss Worthington, a member of the Berkeley City Council, smack of backroom political maneuverings that eliminated the public from the decision-making process to build it. 

In 1992, Berkeley voters agreed to Measure G, allocating $12.8 million to retrofit the city’s public safety buildings. The money was earmarked to re-model the existing Hall of Justice and Fire Department headquarters, both built in the 1930’s.  

Instead, both older buildings are set for demolition in the next year – they will be replaced by parking lots - and a new Public Safety Building, housing the entire Berkeley police department as well as the Fire Department administration, will open in early October. 

The building commemorates Ronald Tsukemoto, the first Berkeley officer killed in the line of duty. Born in Tule Lake, CA, one of a dozen “relocation camps” where all west coast Japanese-Americans were sent during World War II, Tsukemoto met his end on University Avenue, when an unknown assailant fatally shot him before escaping in a waiting car. 

“How did a simple bill upgrading “essential services” become the basis for an entirely new construction project?” asks Worthington. “The original ballot (measure), called Measure G, gave money to the fire and police departments to retrofit their buildings- not build a new one,” says Worthington.  

By means of a “validation action,” allowing the City Council to unilaterally re-allocate funds, the $12.8 million delegated for the retro-fitting became the basis for the new hall of justice. 

“This building was decreed when the city sued itself.” says Worthington. “In 1995 it got a judge to switch the intention of the ballot from one objective to another without any public input. The city took a Measure, a binding public decision, and altered it without consulting them.” 

Others disagree, saying Measure G, as it stood, was an inefficient waste of public money. 

“Back in 1995, a cost comparison between upgrading current police headquarters and constructing a new building showed that a new building was a better use of money,” says Lorin Jensen, supervising Civil Engineer of the Department of Public Works. 

“Retrofitting always costs more than construction because there are so many unknowns before actual work begins,” he continues. 

So the $12.8 million Measure G money was put away, earning 1.7 million in interest between 1992 and 1998. Focus swung from a retrofit to a new building and the City Council went through a few designs before settling on the present proposal from S.J. Amoroso, a Foster City based construction crew. With the addition of a $3.5 million state grant, the entire project totaled $18.5 million. 

City officials wax enthusiastic when discussing the new building. 

“We ended up replacing the old Hall of Justice and McKinley Hall (Fire Department administration building) with one single building built to a higher standard of earthquake safety,” says Renee Cardinaux, the city’s director of public works.  

“Now, the 911 response unit and fire department HQ is fully operational even if there is power failure in the city that knocks out the grid,” continues Cardinaux. 

But inside the new edifice is a 43-bed jail, which Cardineaux, laughing, says is for, “our overnight guests.” A temporary holding cell for inmates either on short stays or on their way to Santa Rita jail, it’s the highly nuanced regulations surrounding the building of a new jail cell which are slowing up completion.  

“The department of corrections came in and inspected our jail cells. There were some problems with the spacing of gaps between the bunks and the wall, and the worry is that some inmates could rip their clothes into strips, slip these into the gaps, and hang themselves from the bunk. So there’s welding that’s going on to correct that.” 

Such delays, Hambleton says, are routine in building new police facilities. 

“There are just so many specs that go into a police facility that don’t go into regular buildings, from communication and radio, to internet and jails. Just cleaning those details up is what’s causing the delay,” he adds. 

After these details are corrected, a one month “shakedown cruise” commences, quips Hambleton. 

“We don’t want to settle in until we know everything is in order.” he says. 

And while groundbreaking ceremonies took place last month, largely symbolic of an unmet construction schedule, communication units are already being moved into the building. A fleet of Pac Bell trucks and technicians are busy re-wiring the Berkeley police into the 21st Century.