The police department project is a remodeling of 3,500 square feet and the addition of another 3,500 square feet. The project includes creating nine offices, a new lobby, a records room, a secure property office and a conference room.
The department has 23 full-time officers, and the building was constructed when it was a mostly part-time police agency.
Fairfield Twp. police Capt. Doug Lanier said the department expects to move from the original portion of the building to the new portion the weekend of April 10, and the remodeling will start a few days later.
Seeing the new and existing portion is “like night and day,” Lanier said.
“It’s amazing how dated this building is,” said Lanier.
The project not only addresses the department’s continued growth, but the demand. Emergency calls for service went from about 10,000 annually in recent years to 12,500 calls in 2019.
The police department transitioned from the township’s administration building more than 20 years ago when the station on Vonnie Vail Court was built. Lanier said not long after it opened, the police department was already outgrowing its space.
“We did quickly outgrow it as we began increasing the number of our personnel,” said Lanier.
Soon after, Fairfield Twp. police Chief Robert Chabali increased the department’s authorized strength to 23 full-time officers. The department is at full strength.
In addition to its officers, the police department has two full-time clerks, a part-time community policing officer and a part-time property room officer who work at the station.
“Some of the things that we’re doing are definitely going to release some of the pressure,” Lanier said, noting the project will provide the department more room for storage, including for records, its armory and property room. “We’re doing what we can to maximize the space that we have.”
Lanier said over the years, the department had to move offices, staff, and storage around “in order to perform our duties.”
“We put a lot of work into the blueprints to maximize every square inch that we could to last us for the long haul,” he said.
The project is expected to wrap in mid-August.
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