FAIRBORN — The Fairborn Police Department is expanding — in square footage.
Fairborn City Council Feb. 6 approved the approximate 4,400 square-foot construction project, which Fairborn Police Chief Terry Barlow said is due to the need for additional space as the staff, department and city has grown.
“The building is 41 years old — built in 1976,” Barlow said. “All we’ve done to the building in that amount of time is cosmetic stuff. Paint, new carpet every 10 years. The building has not changed design.”
Construction is expected to start in the beginning of March and wrap-up in less than one year. While the majority of the construction will bring expansion toward the center of the building, where the lockers, property room and restrooms are located, it will also bring changes to the department’s parking lots. The public parking location will differ from where it currently stands, while marked police vehicles will be placed in an enclosed gated area.
“That way we have a little more security for the vehicles,” Barlow said.
The current lockers are comparable to the size of high school lockers, according to Barlow, which doesn’t address the current needs of officers. Since the building was constructed in the 1970s, police officers have since been required to wear additional gear, such as body armor. Barlow said the current lockers are too small to allow officers to hang up their uniforms or body armor to dry during the sweatier months. The upgraded lockers will also address the need to charge electronic devices, something Barlow said was not considered upon the building’s original construction.
The project will additionally bring more space to the department’s property room as well as upgrades to the department’s HVAC system and boilers.
“It’s a renovation with some new construction for growth,” he said.
Although the Fairborn Government Center is attached to the police department, construction is not expected to alter the city offices. It will additionally not impact to the department’s jail, mechanical room or shooting range.
“There’s been growth,” Barlow said. “Staffing growth and the need for office and area space due to the growth of city, department and staff.”