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Politics & Government

Viewfinder: Behind The Scenes At Existing, Future Police Stations

The new police station will put the force in bigger, better and safer digs and host City Council meetings in New Baltimore.

This summer, the New Baltimore Police Department will move from a tiny station at the east end of Washington St. to another larger building at 37885 Green St.

New Baltimore-Chesterfield Patch got an exclusive sneak peek inside the future police station and a behind-the-scene glimpse of the existing station.

The current station is an old dentist office with cramped quarters and potential safety hazards while the future station is the former lending and operation center for Citizens Bank.

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New Baltimore Police Chief Tim Wiley said current and past city councils carefully budgeted and saved for the purchase of the new building over many years.

“They did it the old-fashioned way by penny-pinching and running a fiscally responsible government to anticipate the future needs of our growing community,” Wiley said.

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No financing will be needed for construction work at the new station since money was saved over many years, he said.

The new station is a 10,000-square-foot building with a 4,000-square-foot back area that includes a garage. It sits on 1.6 acres. The property cost about $475,000 and the renovations will cost about $300,000, according to police.

“This new building will be a state-of-the-art, 24-hour service police station and municipal center,” Wiley said.

It will also benefit the community in other ways, especially as the gathering place for City Council.

“There will be more room for residents to attend meetings and this will also free up space at the New Baltimore City Hall,” Wiley said.

The new station will have room to host meetings with local and state entities and other police departments--helping enhance regional cooperative efforts.

Another by-product of the police station move is it will free up the property at the end of Washington Street for development. This could potentially mean more jobs and economic growth for downtown New Baltimore. Wiley said he is in contact with the New Baltimore Downtown Development Authority to brainstorm ideas for the soon-to-be vacated building.

He applauded James Renaud, architect from JFR Architects, for designing the new station to accommodate the public, officers and municipal meetings.

“The building is also designed to handle future growth,” Renaud said.

With the move, the station is expected stay open 27-seven for the first time, according to police.

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