A station grows in Chelmsford -
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Published on: 5/18/2002
Last Visited: 5/18/2002
" Once the foundation was there, they put the steel up, " said Police Chief Raymond McCusker." That's when things really started to fly."
The current construction speed is a definite change of pace for a project that languished for more than five years since the first study to look at a new building was completed.Finally on track, the new state-of-the-art station, including a secondary building, will be more than four times the size of the current facility up the road.
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Set for a Jan. 7, 2003 completion date, it could be called a late Christmas present for McCusker, the police force, and the even the town.
" My guess this is the last police station I'll ever see built in Chelmsford, " McCusker said on a recent tour of the construction site." So we might as well do it right."
Fixing what is wrong with the present station includes incorporating what is missing in a facility long-suffering from growing pains.As the town's population expanded and the need for services increased, the station tried to keep up, but more often than not fell behind.
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" The layout is more efficient, " said McCusker." We thought out how we do things so we can give the best service to the public."
After pulling into the landscaped area off Old North Road, a visitor will encounter a two-story, redbrick building with a pitched roof set into a small hill.Adorning the outer edge of the building will be a five-foot tall granite town seal which has been donated by the Chelmsford Police Fund.
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McCusker expects the room will be used not only for the training of officers, but also by various groups in the community.
" It will be a nice addition to the town, " he said.
Another new feature is the inclusion of four interview rooms, one off the lobby, two in the criminal bureau, and one on the ground floor near the cell blocks, currently the department has no interview rooms.
Individuals arriving via a police cruiser will be driven into a garage-like area in the rear of the building.There prisoners will be brought into the in-take center, booked, and taken to one of 10 cells, six set aside to hold males, two for females, and two for juveniles.The ground floor also includes the sergeant roll call room, locker rooms, and a fitness center for the officers.
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The current building lacks storage space, and property is stuck anywhere officers can find space, said McCusker.
" There are a lot of things we should have had, but never had, " he added." We tried to think of everything, but I'm sure there's something we forget."
High on his to-do list is implementing a plan which will allow officers to close the old place and set up shop in the new building with absolutely no downtime.He expects there will be two systems up and running for a period of time until the switch can be shut off at the old station sometime early next year.
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" It's moving right along, " said McCusker." I'm looking forward to moving in."
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