Insights into Stanley’s plans to build a new police station
The City of Stanley plans to build a new 10,000 square foot police station to replace the current police station. The project will be fully funded by a state grant.
The new police department will have training rooms, a weight room, locker rooms for officers, a classroom, a secured entrance for officers with prisoners, a large media conference room, an archives room, an operational communications room and an evidence room, said City Manager Heath Jenkins.
The department’s appearance will be modeled after that of the Maiden Police Department.
“We’re taking a lot from this building, both in terms of design and layout,” Jenkins said.
The police department will be located across from the Stanley branch of the Gaston County Public Library on North Peterson Street.
Stanley needs a new police department because the current police department is in an older building that is not wheelchair accessible, Jenkins said.
The current building is less than 370 square meters and was partially constructed in the 1940s and then remodeled in the 1970s. It is a two-story building with no elevator, so the top floor is only accessible by stairs.
“We had been talking about the new police building before there was any funding from the state, and we actually used some of our regional COVID funding and purchased the property that would house the police department,” Jenkins said. “We did that early on, and the property is already purchased, paid for, and we’ve already done the preliminary environmental and soil studies on it. So it’s ready for development.”
The city received a $4.2 million state grant to build the police station. They hope to build a station that will be usable 40 to 50 years from now.
“When we knew we were going to move forward, one of my biggest concerns was taking on so much debt. As mayor, I’ve focused on that and worked on really paying down the city’s debt and not taking on any debt unless it’s absolutely necessary,” said Deputy City Manager Steven Denton, who until recently served as Stanley’s mayor.
Jenkins and Denton approached state officials and asked for financial support.
“The squeaky wheel gets the oil,” Denton said. “And I was hoping to get maybe $500,000 for the down payment on that, and we had to finance three and a half million.”
Instead, they received $4.2 million, which fully funds the police department.
“That’s why not a single cent of Stanley’s taxpayer money will go toward this building,” Denton said.
Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and will take at least one year.
“You don’t want to build a facility that will be obsolete in five years,” Jenkins said.
