Federal funding has been secured for various improvements at the Atascadero Police Department.
Some of the $850,000 will go toward updating the department’s dispatch center.
U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta’s office states the updates “are part of a larger project to improve the police station to better-serve and protect the people of Atascadero.”
"It's going to expand our capabilities quite a bit,” said Atascadero Police Chief Daniel Suttles. The chief says they’ll be constructing a new 1,100-square-foot building near the current police station, allowing them to go from three dispatchers on duty at a time to four.
He also says having the building stand alone and not be connected to the current police station will help cut down on costs for the project while also allowing the department to take on more calls.
“We can handle more calls at one time. We can handle a major event while we're handling calls for service at the same time. We can handle more people. As we grow, we're going to need more officers, we're going to need more dispatchers, so it just gives us the ability to grow and handle more things," Chief Suttles said.
The funding was announced at an event in front of the department on Wednesday morning, where Panetta, Chief Suttles and Atascadero Mayor Charles Bourbeau were all in attendance.
Chief Suttles says the current dispatch center will be converted to office space or a report-writing room. An unused 1,200-square-foot jail within the building will also be moved out and the space used as a women’s locker room. The men’s locker room will also be expanding.
Chief Suttles says making these improvements will allow them to grow as a department as the community also grows.
The federal funding will help offset funds being used for the project from voter-approved Measure D-20 funds.
Chief Suttles says they’re working to ensure that when ground breaks on the project in a month or two, impacts to the surrounding community and traffic are minimal.
The department’s current building was built in the 1960s.
