GILROY
– A trip to the police department may not be the most
comfortable experience for everyday residents, but Gilroy police
hope the new $27.7 million station will be as welcoming as
possible.
GILROY – A trip to the police department may not be the most comfortable experience for everyday residents, but Gilroy police hope the new $27.7 million station will be as welcoming as possible.
The facility, to be completed in March 2006 at Hanna and Seventh streets, will include an open lobby intended to create a non-threatening atmosphere for people filing complaints or reporting crimes.
“It’s intimidating enough for people to come to the police department, even if they’ve done nothing wrong,” said Assistant Chief Lanny Brown. “We want to make that better, at least at the front end. The lobby should welcome you in and make you feel like you’re the customer and you’re there to receive service, not like you’re some sort of crook who’s done something wrong.”
Near the facility’s entrance will be the neighborhood resource unit, where crimes are reported to community service officers. The unit’s new location will provide greater accessibility and privacy to individuals reporting crimes, Brown said. The current station has only a few reporting rooms and people waiting in line to report crimes often are within earshot, Brown said.
Directly across the hall from the resource unit will sit the community room, a place where residents can meet with each other or other officers in an open environment.
Convenience is another selling point offered by the new station, according to the city’s Facilities and Parks Development Manager Bill Headley.
“This will provide a one-stop shop for citizens who come to the civic center and want to have all their services provided here, without having to do the run-around to places all around town,” Headley said. “It really consolidates things.”
The resulting vacancy of the existing police station at 7370 Rosanna St. will house other city services and departments that are in dire need of more space. The breathing room will allow city officials to expand and improve city services without having to significantly remodel or construct additional buildings, Headley said.
“City Hall is definitely experiencing some overcrowding,” Headley said. “There are more and more people in the offices. It’s interesting walking around in that building, because once you get behind the front counter, you see how much more space they really need.”
The added space also will offer police officers the ability to meet in their own building — a sorely missed convenience the old facility does not allow. The department instead has utilized space in the Chamber of Commerce building as well as the Gilroy Senior Center.
There has been no discussion yet about dedicating the station in memorial to a legendary police chief or other prominent city individual, Headley said. The building is being viewed as a replacement facility rather than an entirely new station, and it will be known simply as the Gilroy Police Station.
Another notable improvement in the new facility is its prison cell accommodations. The station’s current cells date back to 1965 and are not up to current standards, Brown said. Changes include increased square footage and updated fixtures and furnishings.
The new station will accommodate 22 prisoners, the same number as in the current building. As a temporary holding facility, Brown said, the station is not intended to keep a large number of prisoners for an extended period of time.
After several frustrating budget overestimations, city staff is eagerly awaiting the building’s construction. The facility, which will be the largest city building constructed in Gilroy to date, is expected to house the department for 20 to 30 years, Brown said.
Brown is certain the new building will be “a very significant cornerstone” of the entire civic center complex and will have a large impact on the city’s future.
Other projected additions, scheduled 15 years in advance, include a parking garage on Dowdy Street just west of the Gilroy Senior Center. The lot will accommodate the police department, the senior center, the recreation center and the library.
