It used to be a wood pulp building, then a fiberglass business, now the building at 330 Front Street is the new headquarters for Union Police Department, and Police Chief Billy Pat Walker couldn’t be happier.
“We’re in the new building and definitely proud to be here,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been working on for a while.”
In the old police station, Walker said, all officers shared a single office and small refrigerator. When one officer was interrogating a suspect, lunch was on hold until they finished. Dispatchers sat behind a partial wall, leaving them exposed should anyone walk in the door.
The new headquarters, he said, boast several offices and a kitchenette for officers and dispatchers to prepare snacks and meals. The dispatchers, who man their station 24-hours a day, are secure behind a locked door and security window, giving them more security and much more room to move about.
“It’s worked out well, very well,” he said.
However, turning the building to be a police station didn’t happen overnight, Walker said. Before moving in, the building was remodeled including new cabinets, new floors, lights, ceiling tiles, wall panels and paint. Additionally, the police department’s furniture, including the single desk, were refinished and moved, along with the department’s files, to the new location.
Walker said the police department owes a debt of gratitude to the Union Board of Aldermen and all those that helped make the move possible.
“It’s all turned out very well, and we’re greatly appreciative to all the people that had a hand in it and the people that done the work,” he said.
With the move, Walker said, Union Police Department not only has the room it needs now but room to grow. And, the citizens of Union, the officers and the city officials have a police department they can be proud of.
Before, he said, officers from other agencies would stop by UPD’s headquarters and see the cramped conditions.
“It was kind of embarrassing when you come in to junk,” he said.
Now, visiting officers come in and complement the police department on its facility.
“Everyone is coming in and saying, ‘This is nice. This is great,” he said. “It wasn’t just for me. It was for everybody. Workers and the citizens of Union.”
In the next few weeks, Union Police Department is planning an Open House, letting people see the new building and help celebrate the move. An exact date hasn’t been decided, but Walker said he hopes all Union residents will take the time to come and see the facility.
In the future, Walker said he hopes to find some grants to help continue remodeling the building, including repairing torn insulation in the warehouse portion and redoing part of the roof. For now, he said, he’s grateful for a facility his officers and dispatchers can be proud to come to each day.
