Edhat Staff
Source: City of Santa Barbara
Increases in both city population and staffing have made a new police station a necessity. The new facility will bring all divisions into one building, creating a more efficient and cohesive police force that will be relevant for at least the next 50 years.
Modernizing operations within the building, and creating a welcoming and community-centric facility, will create a safe and effective Police Station.
NWA has a great song about to PO-PO.
Don’t have to convince me I thought they needed a new station 40 years ago.
What about putting it where the old dinosaur Sears store was located?
Heck, the new station could fit in the upper parking lot alone & the City could turn the old store into a homeless shelter. Perfect!
don’t down vote this comment…this is fact. our city looks like shit! the roads and infrastructure are collapsing. sorry, but a fancy new building for the POPO come last on the list of how to spend my tax dollars….yall can get used to it (being in a cramped spot)
It was much cheaper about 20 years ago when they first proposed rebuilding it.
I agree with SBO. It will never get cheaper, and people that know more than I do say it is necessary. The location probably hinges on several factors (that was my big word sentence for the day) that will make whatever spaces that are available more or less desirable. I was wondering if any space was available in Hope Ranch. Centrally located, easy freeway access, and not too far from the jail. Also, the Hope Ranch patrol could keep the Riffraff away. And I Hope you know that I am kidding.
At one time we lived in a society that pretty much policed itself – benignly because of mutually shared values. The Golden Rule covered most personal decisions. .Kids could grow up free-range. You knew your parents would punish you if you did things wrong. Police work must have been a lot easier back then. Thanks to the social revolution in the 1960’s, life today is just the opposite. Yes, a lot of the good old days were good. Too bad so much of what was good got broken, when we tried to make things “better”.
The building was built in 1959 when the population of SB was approx 58,000 today it is approx 92,000, an increase of 59%.
I’d like to understand why the staffing has grown much more than 59% and how it compares to similar size cities.
Less cars. More footwork and real ‘policing’. Thankfully, if all else fails, the popo have that sweet bearcat they love to use for s kitty in a tree and a new command post at the ready. Mobil up.
The $100 million dollar question is where is the funding going to come from? There isn’t a dime for this except for iPhone videos and YouTube. Is Cearnal really selling this? Stooged out. SB has jumped the shark. Thanks to Cathy Murillo and her union labor agreement, all the money spent will go to out of town contractors. Thanks!!
Try watching the video… we’ve been and will continue to pay…and you, as in the dark as you are were probably one of those that voted for it.
Good news! Great Police Chief to lead the effort.
Way Past Due! Let’s GET ER Done!
PR Stunt – Move it North and out of the downtown. It doesn’t make any sense in the long-term to have a police station downtown. It is too expensive and there is no opportunity for expansion years down the road. Move it North!
My guess is that we’ll have a pretty decent earthquake in the next couple of years that will cause the current building to become unusable and we’ll be forced to spend 5x as much to build something quickly in a less than optimal location while paying outrageous rent to some LLC to house them in the meantime. Then in 10 years we’ll look back and ask: “Why didn’t we just build it at the ______, when we had a chance?”. It will mimic every other major development in this town. Delayed for years and costing exponentially more because a few bored, loud, NIMBY-nosey Santa Barbara folks were outraged at the idea of a new police station taking over their pristine parking lot or losing their favorite old 1950’s shack or some other ridiculous reasoning… Build it ASAP, its never going to get cheaper.
I’ve realised that I don’t need a
“New chair”…
I can sit on my ass anywhere.
Would love the potholes on my street/around town to be fixed first. Love the dramatic video! Oh, we are so crammed! Like a jail cell? Whatever.
Another example: In a dozen or so years, much if not most of the City’s vehicle fleet will be electric and require charging stations, fast battery swaps, or whatever that future technology is. The Sears site has room to accommodate that future without major disruption to ongoing operations. The “New City Hall” could also provide community meeting spaces, teleconferencing facilities, etc, and still have room to grow and accommodate future needs as required. Think Smart SB (TSSB!)
yeah TADGES, i sure did TRY to watch the video, maybe the fact I name checked Cearnal would alert you to the fact I had. So apparently you didn’t get all the way through, clown. How many years will it take to get that funding through the 1cent tax, wiz? And the darkness you speak of alleging I voted for it, I can assure you i DID NOT.
My opinion is dissolve the police and expand the Sheriffs Dept. with Quality PD Staff.
Buy the Sears building and remodel to serve as central police/fire/emergency services, and City Hall. Use the former Tire Center as city vehicle maintenance facility and storage lot. Sell the downtown City Hall and Police HQ properties to developers. Fire Station 1 will appreciate the extra space when their admin folk move to La Cumbra. SB needs to think long term, and here’s an opportunity to do that.
Way to whitewash history Facto, as if people were really that different… They’re the same we just have a whole lot more visibility and perhaps most importantly, a whole lot more people. Be sure to say high to Wally, Lumpy and Eddie on your way back to Revisionist-ville…
Yes, those segregated days with Jim Crow laws were really wonderful. Notice that only the white people look back on those days with rose-colored glasses. I have news for you- Norman Rockwell towns were not the norm, ever.
VERY GOOD QUESTION CitizenSB! I’ve previously read we have one of the highest city employee to population ratios in the state. Another question for everyone, does it feel like all these extra city employees make things easier for citizens and businesses or a harder?
I COMPLETELY agree with YACHT ROCKED. The deserted Sears building location is the obvious best choice. Which guarantees it hasn’t a hope of being chosen.
City Fire just moved their admin right next door to newly remodeled and equipped facilities on Chapala. Pipe dreams need a little research. This would not work any more than having everyone having to take all their city business to the end of the city limits. Hey we’ve got lots of city property out by our airport…lets just move public works, the corp yard and the desal plant all out there….Not