After a lengthy delay, Starkville Police Department will officially move into its newly-renovated headquarters next week.
Mayor Lynn Spruill announced a grand opening for the facility is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 13, after aldermen authorized her to sign a certificate of significant completion at Tuesday’s board meeting.
“I’m really pleased we reached a point where they can get in their headquarters,” Spruill said. “I know it’s been very important to them to have a single place from which to do business, and it should improve morale and efficiency.”
Police Chief Frank Nichols said he’s excited to soon have the police department working out of one location again. SPD has been spread out across several locations since the renovation work started last year.
The department’s headquarters and administration is housed at City Hall, while reporting and dispatch functions moved to the Starkville Sportsplex annex. Its investigations department is utilizing previously rented and newly leased office space at Synergetics, and other staff and operations occupy South Park Plaza commercial space on Louisville Street.
“The most important thing with moving into the new building is having everybody in the same station,” Nichols said. “It increases our ability to better serve the citizens of Starkville. That’s the biggest thing to me.”
The $5.4 million renovation project has been largely complete since the summer. However, the city delayed a formal dedication ceremony, originally scheduled for late June, when it learned of standing water in the building’s basement.
Work on the basement is still ongoing, and the city has hired Clyde Pritchard’s engineering firm to solve the issue.
While the basement work continues, Spruill said it shouldn’t disrupt the police department’s normal operations.
“It’s a basement, not a place where they’re going to function,” she said. “It’s an area where we need to get water mitigation done and we can do that without hindering their operations.”
Spruill said the decision isn’t final on the matter, but she hopes the public will be able to take tours of the new department for the grand opening.
“Because it’s a police station, you’ll find that people won’t be able to get into it very often, so it has to be more of a one-time type of deal,” she said. “I’m hoping the chief will be open to doing tours that day.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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