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Wednesday, 28 January 2009 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — A $75,000 renovation project to the St. Marys Police Department will make dispatchers and officers more safe and allow for better communication, a local police chief says.
Contractors recently completed the first phase of a project at the St. Marys Police Department. The project included the renovation of the lobby — which now sports bulletproof glass.
“It will offer the dispatchers and officers more safety and add to the professionalism of the safety building,” Police Chief Greg Foxhoven said. “It is more safe with the bulletproof material and the service window. There have been people who leaped through that window before.”
The second phase of the project will add an expanded dispatch center that will allow for dual dispatching — something Foxhoven said will be an asset for the department. Foxhoven said that project is expected to start in March.
“Right now we are set up to have one dispatcher,” Foxhoven said. “The new room will have dual, or tandem dispatching. With two dispatchers dispatching simultaneously, it will help in emergency situations and it is nice to have that ability. We will be able to dispatch police and fire simultaneously.”
Foxhoven said he believes the projects are the first major renovations to the building since it was built in 1966.
The project also has been in the works for several years.
“This has been in the five-year plan for a number of years,” Foxhoven said. “When I first took over as chief, we put it in the five-year plan in 2004. We are on schedule with that. There has been a lot of discussion and a lot of planning with the safety-service director on this. We are carefully planning what we do.”
Foxhoven said some of the added cost associated with the project was a result of the bulletproof material installed in the lobby. The police chief likened the lobby area to that of the Municipal Court building in St. Marys.
“The bulletproofing is more expensive but we felt it was the right time to do that,” Foxhoven said. “I think it’s very standard now to have bulletproofing when they are building those types of areas.”
Other costs associated with the project include upgrades to radio and computer equipment as well as the temporary relocation of the dispatchers. Foxhoven said when the building opened, it was given a life expectancy of 56 years.
“Our hope is that by doing this, we can extend its life,” Foxhoven said. “A lot of agencies are building new buildings but we are hoping to extending the life of this building.
Foxhoven said once started, the project should be completed in approximately four weeks. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 02 February 2009 )
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