(Nov. 17, 2016) Government officials, members of the police department and town employees gathered last Wednesday at the site of the new Berlin Police station for a groundbreaking that, according to Mayor Gee Williams, has been generations overdue.
The town used mostly casino revenue to buy the property at the corner of Flower Street and Route 376 and then sold a portion of it to cut that outlay in half. The purchase price was $828,530, but the town later sold 1.6 acres of the parcel to Dollar General for $409,250.
The building is expected to cost about $2.2 million, and could be open by the end of next year.
Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing told the Gazette in July the station would triple the size of the current building, near Town Hall on Williams Street.
To say the department’s current quarters are cramped is something of an understatement, according to Downing, who said 14 police officers must share four desks and work with inadequate storage.
There have been times, when citizens coming in for fingerprinting were turned away for fear they would be exposed to people in police custody, Downing said.
Even though the new station is a year away, Downing said the fact that it will be built is boosting departmental morale.
“They finally see the light at the end of the tunnel in that we’re getting something that is proper and that is modern,” he said in July. “You don’t feel safe in places … where you take two steps and you’re out the back door.”
Planning Director Dave Engelhart said the building would provide about 7,100 square feet of space, about 2,000 square feet more than the current station.
At the groundbreaking, Williams addressed a crowd huddled under a tent in the rain. Among those at the ceremony were council members Zack Tyndall and Thom Gulyas, Worcester County Sheriff Reggie Mason, Worcester County commissioners Bud Church and Diana Purnell, and Ocean Downs General Manager Joe Cavilla.
“We have a very cozy situation here this morning, which is very typical Berlin,” Williams said, adding that it was a “dreary, but important day for Berlin and the greater community.”
He said it the project took “a lot of pushups” by state and local lawmakers to secure Berlin a portion of the funds generated at the Casino at Ocean Downs.
“Looking back, it was a blessing for Berlin,” he said. “I think Berlin has tried – and I think today is evidence – to do what’s right with that money … public safety is one of the things that was definitely earmarked for any slots revenues that were shared with the county and the town.”
He said all of the “new equipment and technology” at the station would be paid for using that casino revenue, and that taxpayers would not be burdened with any of those costs.
“Both from a practical standpoint and from trying to do the right thing as a community, we’ve applied those revenues to a critical need for this community that’s been around for decades,” Williams said.
“As proud as we all are of our police headquarters, we also recognize that good policing is all about people working every day to earn the trust and respect of the people in our community and our guests,” he added. “I sincerely believe this is an opportunity for all of us to rededicate ourselves to our longstanding policy of community policing. It has served our town of berlin so well for so many years.
“Given all the upheaval and change our nation is going through, there is no more important time than now for all of us to lead by example, so let’s begin leading by way of construction of this exciting public safety project with the official groundbreaking,” Williams said.
The town used mostly casino revenue to buy the property at the corner of Flower Street and Route 376 and then sold a portion of it to cut that outlay in half. The purchase price was $828,530, but the town later sold 1.6 acres of the parcel to Dollar General for $409,250.
The building is expected to cost about $2.2 million, and could be open by the end of next year.
Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing told the Gazette in July the station would triple the size of the current building, near Town Hall on Williams Street.
To say the department’s current quarters are cramped is something of an understatement, according to Downing, who said 14 police officers must share four desks and work with inadequate storage.
There have been times, when citizens coming in for fingerprinting were turned away for fear they would be exposed to people in police custody, Downing said.
Even though the new station is a year away, Downing said the fact that it will be built is boosting departmental morale.
“They finally see the light at the end of the tunnel in that we’re getting something that is proper and that is modern,” he said in July. “You don’t feel safe in places … where you take two steps and you’re out the back door.”
Planning Director Dave Engelhart said the building would provide about 7,100 square feet of space, about 2,000 square feet more than the current station.
At the groundbreaking, Williams addressed a crowd huddled under a tent in the rain. Among those at the ceremony were council members Zack Tyndall and Thom Gulyas, Worcester County Sheriff Reggie Mason, Worcester County commissioners Bud Church and Diana Purnell, and Ocean Downs General Manager Joe Cavilla.
“We have a very cozy situation here this morning, which is very typical Berlin,” Williams said, adding that it was a “dreary, but important day for Berlin and the greater community.”
He said it the project took “a lot of pushups” by state and local lawmakers to secure Berlin a portion of the funds generated at the Casino at Ocean Downs.
“Looking back, it was a blessing for Berlin,” he said. “I think Berlin has tried – and I think today is evidence – to do what’s right with that money … public safety is one of the things that was definitely earmarked for any slots revenues that were shared with the county and the town.”
He said all of the “new equipment and technology” at the station would be paid for using that casino revenue, and that taxpayers would not be burdened with any of those costs.
“Both from a practical standpoint and from trying to do the right thing as a community, we’ve applied those revenues to a critical need for this community that’s been around for decades,” Williams said.
“As proud as we all are of our police headquarters, we also recognize that good policing is all about people working every day to earn the trust and respect of the people in our community and our guests,” he added. “I sincerely believe this is an opportunity for all of us to rededicate ourselves to our longstanding policy of community policing. It has served our town of berlin so well for so many years.
“Given all the upheaval and change our nation is going through, there is no more important time than now for all of us to lead by example, so let’s begin leading by way of construction of this exciting public safety project with the official groundbreaking,” Williams said.