The Virginian-Pilot
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The leaders of the Police and Fire departments told the City Council on Wednesday that they need to build another public safety building to extend critical coverage for a growing population.
The presentation included a proposal to spend $9.4 million on a joint public safety center in two years near Wilroy Road and Nansemond Parkway. The construction costs include a $1.9 million training facility.
Police Chief Thomas Bennett said the center would allow his department to reduce response times and create a third precinct. Currently, response times to high-priority calls exceed seven minutes nearly a third of the time, he reported.
Suffolk's 120 patrol officers cover 430 square miles in two precincts. The first precinct, which encompasses downtown and the southern half of the city, is responsible for 60 percent of calls, Bennett said.
"That's way out of whack," he said.
A station at Wilroy Road and Nansemond Parkway would allow the police to create a precinct for an area roughly from Chuckatuck and Holland to the northern half of greater downtown. The facility also would cover a swath of homes and businesses that fall outside the desired
5-mile service area of existing fire stations, fire Chief Mark Outlaw said.
The city also needs to build two more fire stations in the next four to five years, one on Holland Road and another on Carolina Road, Outlaw said. The stations were part of a plan created in 1998 in anticipation of accelerated population growth, and that growth happened, Outlaw said.
"We thought this through, and we waited and waited as long as we really can go before Chief Bennett and myself come to you and ask for some of this funding," he said.
The city also needs a new emergency communications center, Bennett said. The current system had a 20-year life expectancy that expired last year.
A new system and building would allow Suffolk to communicate better with other agencies, address dead spots and allow for expansion, Bennett said. That project is expected to cost $13.1 million.
The City Council took no action on the proposals. It could incorporate the initial costs of some of the projects in its budget next year.
Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
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New Public Safety Building
I work for the city of Suffolk and had my hours cut. I was recently told I would not be getting my hours back. None of this surprises me. The city always finds money for things that they need or want and to heck with their employees!
"Mose/holycrapman"
Mose...I would hardly consider "Nansemond Pkwy and Wilroy Rd" the northern end of Suffolk. There is a great need for a public safety building in this area. You would know this if you lived in this area and have ever had to call on one of these agencies. Atleast they are asking for a building to serve more than one purpose rather than one police building and one firehouse.
Holycrapman....you are exactly correct on your statement....the city does not have enough police officers and is all the more reason that another building is needed. As it is they are stretched way to thin when arrests take place and one has to take a suspect from the nansemond parkway area all the way down town to Wellons St to process. It will save money on gas, it would increase response time to calls, and it would spread out an all ready thin police dept so that they can better serve people like yourself. There is plenty for kids to do if the parents would get off their butts to take them to activities. These changes have nothing to do with City Council they have everything to do with the people in charge of our safety. Maybe you should sign up to do a ride along with the police dept one night so you c
Wasteful Spending
Building another Public Safety Building in the Northern End of Suffolk is wasteful. There is a new precinct on Route 17 in the Bennetts Creek/Harbourview area. Suffolk continues to lay-off staff and cut work hours in the name of saving money. Then the city officals/staffers turn around and spend taxpayers money on projects which are not necessary. This proposed new construction is an attempt to "Please" a councilmember in his/her borough. Less spending and more saving is needed here!
"It's NOT a good time to be in Suffolk!"
Empty building
You don't have enough cops to fill the precincts you have. Why build another empty building. Cops don't sit around the precinct waiting for calls, they go on shift while on the street. Sounds like an expensive set of offices for the head shed. How about building something useful like a youth center somewhere in the downtown/Chuckatuck area to get kids off the streets.