Jan. 22--The city's law enforcement presence has officially expanded into southeast Montgomery.
Representatives from the city's Department of Public Safety and area law enforcement agencies were on hand Tuesday for the grand opening of DPS SouthCentral, which houses operations of both the police and fire departments. The facilities are in the section of the old Montgomery Mall that faces East South Boulevard near the intersection with McGehee Road.
"It allows police and fire medics to work in an area that puts them closer to the citizens that they serve," DPS Director Chris Murphy said. "But it also is another manifestation of us bringing the Department of Public Safety together as one as opposed to individual interests. We work better together."
Fire Station No. 9 will occupy 18,950 square feet of the property, and the Montgomery Police Department will occupy 4,000 square feet. MPD will have East and South Patrol precincts as well as Community Policing at the location.
Police Chief Kevin Murphy said locating in the area will help decrease local response times, which is crucial to having a daily interaction with residents and businesses.
"It's one thing to travel downtown to visit the police, but this is a police presence and police accountability at their front door," Kevin Murphy said.
The move is an upgrade for Fire Station No. 9, which is expanding from a double-wide trailer across East South Boulevard. It is the first fire station constructed in Montgomery since Fire Station No. 16 on Ray Thorington Road in 1999.
The public safety hub currently has 142 police officers as well as five firefighters. Martha Earnhardt, DPS spokeswoman, said the number of firefighters will increase by nine with an additional medic truck when the current class of firefighter trainees graduates in the spring.
Mayor Todd Strange said the facility "speaks volumes" about the city's commitment to residents, but he hopes more is done with the old Montgomery Mall location. He said the city has been in talks with Montgomery Public Schools in recent years about the use of the building.
One of the items on the agenda for newly appointed Superintendent Margaret Allen is determining the best course of action for major construction projects that had begun under former Superintendent Barbara Thompson. One plan called for moving both Loveless Academic Magnet Program High and Montgomery Technical Education Center to the location.
Strange still hopes to see that happen.
"I would be remiss if I left this podium without laying the challenge down to our board of education to take care of the other end, to develop property they already own, to put MTEC in that facility -- which is the secret to our future," he said.
Mona Davis, MPS spokeswoman, said the school board will hold a work session Monday to discuss the old Montgomery Mall location as well as other facilities. It will be at 1 p.m. at the Central Office.
Davis said the board still is in the process of reviewing and weighing options regarding the use of facilities.
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