Candidates Disagree on Spending Millions for Clayton Police Station. Your Thoughts?

Did the city of Clayton make the right decision when it spent more than $28 million to turn the Heritage Building into a police station? 

It's a point of contention for the three candidates vying for the city's spot as mayor in the April 2013 election. 

The three candidates—Ward 3 Alderman Alex Berger III, Ward 2 Alderwoman Michelle Harris and former alderman Harold Sanger—disagreed when asked about the move during a public debate on March 14 at the Clayton High School auditorium.

What do you think? Is this the best spot for Clayton's police department, or should it have been saved for a corporate office?

Berger said the decision to move into the Heritage Building will be looked upon as a mistake because the financial impact was higher than what was originally told the community.

Harris voted for it as an alderwoman. She told the crowd that the Heritage Building should be preserved, and she said she couldn't think of a better purpose for it. She added that public safety is the top priority in Clayton.

Sanger said he was not in the room when the decision was made, but would think hard about taking a prime corporate headquarters off the tax rolls. He said the old police station was not in good shape, and something new was needed.

Each candidate's answer is recorded in the video that accompanies this article.

What do you think? Did the city make the right move to preserve the Heritage Building while upgrading its public safety efforts, or was it an unwise decision to spend that much money right now?