HUBBARD Police to move to new safety center

The city approached the people with a plan, the mayor said.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HUBBARD -- For years, the city's police officers worked in an old building and in conditions many people have said are unsatisfactory at best.
That's all about to change, as the police department prepares to move into a new, state-of-the-art facility this week.
Most of the force, as well as about 200 residents, city officials and others, attended Sunday's dedication ceremony and open house to usher in the 5,500-square-foot Hubbard Safety Center at 233 School St. The facility should be fully operational by month's end.
"It will provide [added] safety for the community and maintain safety of those who work inside, for years to come," Mayor Arthur U. Magee told the crowd.
Paying for the project
Much of the funding for the center, which cost more than $1 million to build, came from a 0.5-percent city income tax increase on the Nov. 2, 2004, general election ballot. Construction of the facility took about a year.
Before passage of the tax increase, Magee continued, the city didn't have the money for such a safety facility. Once funds became available, city officials "explained to people how every penny was to be spent," the mayor noted.
"You can't go and ask people for money without a plan," Magee said, adding that the center will allow emergency personnel to respond more quickly to calls.
Magee praised the police department for working in what he said were deplorable conditions, and he predicted the safety center will bring more residents and businesses to the area.
The three-hour event included a tour of the building, which features a circular, state-of-the-art dispatch area as well as two centers to handle 911 calls.
What the building has
The building also houses evidence rooms, several offices, two holding cells, an interrogation room and a room for video arraignments. Being able to take prisoners to be arraigned via video conferencing will save the city money by reducing costs of inmates' transportation, officers' overtime and wear and tear on vehicles, officer Robert Thompson noted.
The basement offers more space to train officers and may also include a workout area, Thompson said, adding that the building will provide "a much better and more comfortable training climate" for various classes and other purposes.
Officer Lonny Fitzsimmons, one of the department's three dispatchers, said the center will have more security than the building at 33 W. Liberty St. the department uses. The safety center will have closed-circuit televisions and 31 security cameras inside and outside, Fitzsimmons said.
The department's phone system has five or six lines that, if most or all are in use, sometimes makes it impossible for officers to make outgoing calls for emergencies, Fitzsimmons said. The center's more sophisticated system will alleviate that problem, he added.
Fitzsimmons predicted that it will be an adjustment for some officers to get used to the facility but that the department's morale will improve.