PCSO celebrates substation grand opening
March 6, 2010
santanvalleytoday.com
On March 6, 2010 the Pinal County Sheriff's
Office celebrated the grand opening of their new substation.
Sheriff Paul Babeu was on hand to cut the ribbon and local vendors turned out for
the Safety Fair that just so happened to take place at the same time and location.
The Fair offered up an abundance of health and safety information, from nutritional
facts to professional document shredding. Local vendors also turned out, as did
several political groups including Citizens for San Tan Valley Incorporation and
a group promoting Shaun Babeu's bid for Justice of the Peace of Apache Junction.
It wasn't all gloom and political doom however, children could take advantage of
the bouncy castle and the climbing wall or just enjoy the free popcorn, cotton candy
and snow cones. Free hotdogs and hamburgers were also available courtesy of Johnson
Ranch.
However, the real event of the day was the substation opening and Sheriff Paul Babeu
had the honor of cutting the ribbon. Before he did, he spoke of how important this
project is to the community. "While other counties are closing substations we are
opening new ones in order to better protect our citizens," he said.
The new substation is significantly larger than the old facility with more computers
and telephones. It also features a large training room as well as an area available
for public meetings.
More importantly, as Lt. Doug Brown, Region Commander of the facility, pointed out
it is much more accessible to the public. "Citizen's can find us a lot easier here,"
he said. "That's why we have the big red sign on top of the building and are putting
a sign in the marquee on the Combs side[ of the plaza]. The mainstream public will
know we are here."
Another selling point for the new substation, at least from a taxpayers point of
view, is that it didn't cost Pinal County a penny. The building was leased to the
county for $56,000 a year for two years at which point the PCSO will have the option
of renewing on a yearly basis. This cost as well as the costs for the all of the
renovations and equipment were paid for with RICO funds. These are funds that are
obtained from the sale of assets belonging to criminals. In short, drug dealers
paid for the substation.
While this facility is a step up from the former substation, it is only a midpoint
in a much larger plan. As Lt. Brown explained the five year goal is to locate the
substation in a county owned building with temporary detainment facilities the substation
currently lacks. Ideally this building will be located adjacent to local court facilities
for obvious reasons.
The new substation is located at 155 W Combs in the Fry's Shopping Plaza. It replaces the substation that was located off of Hunt Hwy which closed near the end of February.
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