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Officers Rashawn Cowles (left) and Chip Downey, in police headquarters' cramped locker room, get ready for work.
Communications Supervisor Samantha Peterson works at one of four stations while colleagues Administrative Assistant Yvonne Vinson stands in a Fredericksburg Police Department evidence room during her shift yesterday. The small space has become so full that city police are using an overflow room to hold additional criminal evidence. |
On busy days, the tiny booking room and holding cells at the Fredericksburg Police Department are crammed with people.
Only one door leads in and out of the room. And the door is usually kept unlocked so other police officers can rush in, in the event of an emergency.
"There's just not much security," said police spokesman Jim Shelhorse. "You're shoulder to shoulder."
It's just one example of the overcrowded conditions at the Princess Anne Street facility.
But, if things go well, by December 2006, a brand-new, sprawling station will open off Cowan Boulevard behind Hugh Mercer Elementary School.
The city is now in negotiations with First Choice Public-Private Partners L.L.C., to build a new headquarters off Cowan Boulevard.
Preliminary plans call for the new building to be one level and have about 35,000 square feet. It will house all Police Department facilities, which are now scattered around town.
"Having a new facility and everyone together in one building will not just be more convenient for us," Shelhorse said. "But more convenient for the public."
The building will be located on 15 acres behind Hugh Mercer Elementary School.
First Choice is now preparing a detailed design of the headquarters to present to city officials.
The cost of the new building is estimated at $10 million.
About 80 Police Department employees are squeezed into about half the red brick building across from the main post office.
The department shares the building with the General District Courthouse. A room that used to be a supply room for the police department now a records room for court.
Upon entering the building, all guests must be buzzed through a main door.
Once inside, a maze of white, sterile corridors leads to small offices.
Dispatch operators are huddled into a tiny room fielding calls from the public.
The records are kept in an office on Caroline Street due to a lack of space.
And some city detectives were moved into larger office space at the Executive Plaza building on Caroline Street.
City lawmakers have made a new police headquarters a high priority.
While a few other sites were initially considered, the land near the school seems to be the best place. And the city was able to save $2 million after the School Board donated the land with the condition that only a police headquarters be built there.
The new building will house forensics, the detectives and patrol divisions, locker rooms for both women and men, an administration area and training space.
Given its current conditions, the new facility can't be built fast enough.
Both government agencies share a small lobby.
The room is without windows and all the doors are locked.
Residents use a wall phone to state their business.
"Some days the lobby is slam packed with people from the court," Shelhorse said. "In the proposed design, we'd have a real lobby--a more comfortable environment."
Another drawback is the existing locker room, Shelhorse said.
Officers have thin lockers that barely fit two uniforms.
A few chairs are scattered in the room, but standard benches are nonexistent.
"And that doesn't even get into parking," Shelhorse said.
A small lot behind the station is shared by police cruisers, the courts and the nearby fire department.
"Parking is a real hassle," Shelhorse said. "When people come to court, there's nowhere to park."
Shelhorse said he looks forward to consolidating the city's law enforcement services under one roof.
"It will be unusual to have everyone on one floor, to walk back to the detectives and the patrol division," he said.
This is the second time the city has worked with First Choice, a company comprised of Mosley Architects and English Construction officials.
The group is also building two new schools in Fredericksburg.
When detailed drawings of the building are submitted to the city, council members will get a look at the plan.
"It's important to sit down and make sure it meets current and future space needs," said City Councilman Matt Kelly. "But also technological needs."
To reach ELIZABETH PEZZULLO: 540/374-5421 epezzullo@freelancestar.com
