ASHLAND - After three years of construction, the Ashland police department's new headquarters are in operation.
Only the usual moving tasks remain, such as filing paperwork, decorating walls and completing some minor finishing work.
The station is in the lower level of Ashland Borough Hall/Anthracite Museum at 401 S. 18th St., near the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train at Higher-Up Park, with the entrance at the back of the building and handicap accessibility from the parking lot.
Ashland Mayor Dennis Kane said the new station has come none too soon.
"This office is like a total 180," Kane said Friday. "If you've been in the old police station and saw the hard conditions they worked under, the difference is obvious. This is modern, spacious - a total improvement. It's actually stepping forward a century."
"The other thing you have to look at is the morale issue," police Chief Adam J. Bernodin Jr. said. "We're now coming to work in a clean, organized police station. That's a big factor. I was asked, 'What do you want?' And they gave me just about everything except for the lockup."
Visitors enter through a metal door into an enclosed entry area. A large window allows officers to see who enters the building and allows them to speak with visitors and take payments for tickets and citations. There is an interview room, a bathroom and shower and an office originally built for the police chief, although Bernodin said it will be used by all the officers as needed.
"That office is coming in handy. The files we have are sensitive, so anything that is of value we can file and place in there," Bernodin said.
He said the interview room allows for privacy, which wasn't available at the old station. Another room is used for storing confiscated weapons under lock and key.
The evidence room is still a work in progress but it will provide much more space.
"This is where we can better organize the evidence," Bernodin said. "We moved everything all this week and it's been a challenge."
The police department has been at 15th and Walnut streets for more than 50 years. The stone building also houses water system booster pumps, which were in the building before the police moved out of its headquarters under the former municipal building at Fifth and Chestnut streets. The pumps are used during fires when extra water pressure is needed.
The idea of moving the police station so borough operations are under one roof was hatched when the borough acquired the anthracite coal museum building in 2006 through a lease with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The former borough building was cramped, with the offices on the second floor, requiring people to ascend a long flight of stairs.
After acquiring the museum, the first construction work began on the main floor to accommodate new offices.
The renovation of the lower level, a storage area, began with design by Yongcheol Kim Architects, Pottsville. Delays occurred until financing could be secured.
"Each officer has space. The evidence locker is much better. It's such a vast improvement. It's like night and day," Kane said.
"We outgrew that other place down there," Bernodin said. "This station came at the perfect time. The mayor can tell you that there was no room for evidence. We had trouble with electronics, telephone and fax machine issues. We had problems with computers due to power surges.
"Now you walk into a building that is up-to-date and organized. It doesn't look like you walked into a mess. This is just the greatest thing that could have been done."
Beyond more room for police operations, creating the new station provided hands-on experience for Schuylkill Technology Center students in learning skills during the construction phase.
Using the students also saved money. When the project began in 2010, it was estimated that allowing the STC students to provide much of the labor would save the borough about $125,000.
However, the use of the students lengthened the completion time, as they were only available at times when it did not interfere with school lessons and activities at the north and south campuses, holidays and summer and winter breaks.
"We had the access to the students from the vo-tech for three years, but those kids did a great job," Bernodin said.
The students from different school districts in the county came from the carpentry class of Timothy McGinley, the plumbing class of Al Wank, the masonry class of Hugh Dougherty and the electromechanical class of Phil Cimino.
An open house and dedication will be held soon.
The police station phone number remains 570-875-2600. For emergencies, call the county communications center by dialing 911.