On Wednesday afternoon the new police station had its ribbon cutting and an open house.
There were refreshments for those who stopped by. While I was there, most of the people checking out the new station were city employees. The room shown below is the conference room that will also be used for training. It is behind the mayor in the picture above. Normally the door to it from the outside will be locked. The public should enter the door at the corner of the building if they have business with the police department.
In addition to cookies, the refreshment table included a decorated cake. Blue punch in the party fountain was an attractive touch.
After the ribbon cutting and a stop for a cookie or bite of cake, the people who were there could take a guided tour. Leaving the conference room, entered a hallway parallel to the highway. There are restrooms off this hallway and as one walks west, two offices. One is the office for the police chief. It has a window, one of the few windows in the building.
The other office is for two officers, a sergeant and a detective.
At the end of this hallway is a door to the dispatch room. It was locked and we did not go in. Rather we turned and walked along the hallway that is parallel to Harrison. On one side is a door to the office shown above (and it is through this door the picture was taken. Along on the west side of the hallway is the squad room with desks for the police officers.
At the end of the hallway is a break room. Opposite this was a door to the upstairs and the evidence room, which we were not allowed to visit.
Rather we walked through the women's locker room to reach the weight room.
Some of the equipment here came from the sale of SJC equipment.
The room contains an impressive display of weights.
We exited the weight room by going back to the hallway through the men's locker room. I am pretty sure that the weight room can only be accessed through the locker rooms.
We backtracked, passing the conference room and a small room that can be used for interviews or interrogations. There are no windows but there is a camera so others outside the room can watch what is happening in the room.
We entered a long, tall room that retains the doors that were used by the fire department. This allows a police car to discharge people inside the building. Notice the doors above the people on the left. Our guide said that they were very useful when moving things over from the old police station. They used a fork lift to lift items up to the level of the door.
There is no holding cell or room in the new building, though there was one in their previous location.
After these first tours had ended, Reverend Ben Hertel of St Luke Lutheran Church blessed the building with several readings and invocations. He is a chaplain for the Police Department.
Leaving the building, I walked over to the reception area that was not on the tour but is where the public will normally enter the station. There is a dispatcher or communications officer behind the glass window that anyone entering will speak to.
There is a restroom off this entry and also a small room that can be used for interviews. It looks a lot like the other interview room.
As I left, other people were arriving and more tours were being given.
It was a fun visit. I hope I will never have to visit on a police matter.
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