Construction begins on new police training facility

Posted to Police Beat by Katherine Miller at 4:46 p.m., Dec. 22, 2008

The City of Columbia held a groundbreaking and ribbon cutting ceremony today to celebrate the start of construction for the new Columbia Police Department Regional Training Facility. 

The project was a part of the 2005 Public Safety Ballot Issue, a tax initiative, and has been on the city’s drawing board since 2001.

Although the contract for the building was signed Oct. 3, the groundbreaking ceremony couldn’t take place until today because the site didn’t have road access before today.

Columbia Purchasing Agent Marilyn Starke said the city went through a competitive bid process but eventually chose Little Dixie Construction out of two other contracting companies.

“The main factor in choosing Little Dixie was that they donated the land for the building to be built on,” Starke said. “Bob LeMone had very strong ties with community development and wanted to see this project come about. We really couldn’t have afforded this project without the land being donated.”

Mayor Pro Tem Chris Janku made the opening remarks, since Mayor Darwin Hindman was out of town for the event.

Interim Police Chief Tom Dresner also expressed his thanks to both the taxpayers and the LeMone family.

“It was a good event,” Assistant City Manager Tony St. Romaine said.  “We had the chamber ambassadors there for a ribbon cutting, and we did a ceremonial groundbreaking.”

Sara LeMone, Bob LeMone’s widow, participated in the groundbreaking ceremony as well.

The whole event lasted about 30 minutes long, cut somewhat short due to the frigid temperatures.

Dresner said the new facility will hold state-of-the-art equipment that will increase both the professionalism and confidence of the department.

“We’re going to be installing a computer firearms training simulator in there that is kind of a state-of-the-art scenario based training for decision-based shooting,” Dresner said. “We hope later at some point, although this is not budgeted for, to have a computer driving simulator.”

The facility will also hold two conference rooms, one large enough for at least 80 people, and some administrative offices.  There will also be a room for vehicle training, such as felony car stop, in the back of the facility. This is the first time Columbia will have its own facility.

“We’ve trained everywhere and anywhere before,” Dresner said.

St. Romaine and Dresner said the new facility other city departments and law enforcement agencies, such as the Boone County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol will use the facility.

“We’re going to make it available to other law enforcement agencies and other city departments as well,” Dresner said

The facility is expected to be completed by the fall of 2009.