Back on March 9, 2007, there was an Article Written about the Rialto Police Department Actually wanting New "Digs"!! What I want to know is that the City got the Utility Tax Renewed, with a wider amount or range of or Area of TAXATION, Namely the Cellular Phones, Home phones, etc etc...all are billed an extra Percentage for our Police Department to get a Raise? No, wait they haven't really gotten that, so wait I know They got the larger sum of money so that they can have a Brand New Police Building, however I don't think that the plans that the last plans that were drawn up for the police Station should be used, The Plan was modeled after the Brand New Fontana Police Station that was built Downtown, No Wait? I guess I was hit on the head...Because I think that the Fontana Police Station was built in the Late 1980's and they moved into their Brand New Police Facility in 1989, or was it 1990?
I don't know I get so confused? I know that the plans that were drawn up for the PLANNED BRAND NEW POLICE FACILITY that was going to be built for the Rialto Police Department, they were going to try to start the construction in the Year of um, let me see it was OH, Yes, the Construction was planned for 1992-95, with a completion date 12 to 18 months later, However for some reason the Rialto City Council lost sight of the new Station, I believe it was because of money!! Now at the time that these discussions were going on, there was approximatly 12 Officers that were dressing in the Hallway to get ready for our shift for a great Eight hours of work (Back then we worked a Five Eight hour shift schedule).
The City Tried to get a Grant that was to be elected in by the Citizens of Rialto however there was not enough interest in the Station to get the Grants past by a 2/3 Vote, so the station was going by the way side once again, and we were still going to dress in the hall for another few years.
To fix this the Command Staff decided to go without the Debriefing Conference Room, and so the table and chairs were taken from that room and the lockers that we were using to dress from were assembled inside this room and made into a second Locker Room. This Second Locer room was forever dubbed the "Junior Locker Room" and all the Senior personel rotated into the bigger locker room because it had a bathroom and a shower. The Junior Locker room had a Chalk Board, and well Lockers, sombody brought a Radio, and that made it nice, but other then that there was no other fringe benefits, they were all reserved for that Senior Locker room.
The City Council and The City of Rialto Really Needs a New Police Station to go with their New Police Chief. It would only make the city that much more inviting for people that are looking for a place to work. I really wish the City Council saw what I am talking about!! They would get more people interested in the POlICE STATION if the STATION WAS ACTUALLY a NEW STATION!!!
BS Ranch
__________________________________________
| Wanted: New PD digs |
| Jason Pesick, Staff Writer San Bernardino County Sun |
| Article Launched:03/09/2007 12:00:00 AM PST |
| RIALTO - The Police Department is a sight to behold. Boxes and old filing cabinets sit throughout the hallways. Records are kept in outdoor bunkers. Much of the staff works out of trailers. Mousetraps dot the dingy hallways. "We've seriously outgrown this facility," police Capt. Raul Martinez said on a tour of the station Thursday. That sentiment, which seemed to be shared by everyone Martinez ran into as he walked the police grounds, is not surprising coming from members of the rank and file. But now the City Council agrees - only a year and a half after it voted to disband the Police Department and contract with the Sheriff's Department, a decision it later reversed - it's time for a new building. At Tuesday night's council meeting, when Chief Mark Kling received approval for new vehicles, equipment and new paint and flooring for the current building, the council overwhelmingly declared support for a new building. Councilman Ed Scott, who was among those who had voted to eliminate the Police Department, said he wants the council to decide to build a new station this year - prompting a chorus of support for the idea. The current station was built about 35 years ago, when Rialto was a much smaller city. In the next 25 years, the city is expected to grow by 65 percent, to about 165,000 residents. Records Supervisor Glenda Montgomery said records employees have to keep files under their desks. She also pointed out a number of makeshift records-storage areas, including a packed closet and a storage bunker in the parking lot employees have to run back and forth to. "We do that every day," she said. Rooms that used to be closets now serve as offices. Police Cpl. Steven Mastaler said that in the winter he needs to install a floor heater in his office. "I like it cold, but sometimes it's just too cold," he said. The building also has leaks. Noretta Barker, a law-enforcement technician working in dispatch, said that when the holding cells upstairs flood, the water leaks into the dispatch area in the basement. The drab facility also makes recruitment a challenge, Martinez said, and the Police Department is hiring both sworn and non-sworn employees. The city is planning to raise money for a police facility. A study from October estimates the city will need $15million for an expansion of the police station, said Chief Financial Officer June Overholt. Much of that money will come from increasing development-impact fees, she said. At a recent community meeting at the Rialto Senior Center, Kling, who started as chief a little more than six months ago, said he found the police facilities to be subpar when he took the post. "If you're going to expect a professional department, then, you know what? It starts at home." Contact writer Jason Pesick at (909) 386-3861 or via e-mail at jason.pesick@sbsun.com. |
No comments:
Post a Comment