Public Tours New Wheeling Police HQ
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WHEELING -- The public got an opportunity Wednesday to tour the new Wheeling Police Department headquarters, a spacious and technologically advanced law enforcement facility that promises to serve the city's police force and its citizens for decades to come.
Officials from the police department and Wheeling City Council joined city staff, representatives of contractors that helped renovate the multimillion-dollar facility and others for an official ribbon cutting of the new headquarters Wednesday afternoon in Center Wheeling. Afterward, police officials took groups of interested residents on guided tours inside the sprawling, three-level home base for the men and women in blue.
Ground was broken for the new headquarters in September 2021 outside the building that was once the Valley Professional Center building on the former Ohio Valley Medical Center campus. The journey to get to Wednesday's ribbon cutting and open house started long before that, however.
Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger noted that when he returned to the Ohio Valley more than a decade ago from Virginia to take the position of police chief in the Friendly City, he did not see the old police headquarters in the City-County Building until after he took the job. All of his interviews had taken place off site in different locations. Then he came to the old station on his first day.
"My first reaction was one of shock, with a little bit of nausea mixed in -- I don't mind saying it," Schwertfeger said, noting that there were many ups and downs over the years in the struggle to bring the facility to fruition. "Now, 11 years later, I walk into 2115 Chapline St. and fill up with immense pride at what all the hard work has accomplished. More importantly, the men and women of the Wheeling Police Department finally have a wonderful facility that is so deserved for them to continue to flourish and be the premier law enforcement agency in the state and in our region."
Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron credited Councilman Dave Palmer for the initial idea to look at the Valley Professional Building as an option to renovate instead of building a new Public Safety Building for both police and fire departments from the ground up.
"This project involves a 36,000-square-feet repurposing of a former medical office building at a cost of $7.2 million for building renovations, $1 million for technology and $450,000 for furniture and other equipment for a total project cost of $8,650,000," Herron said.
The city manager noted that M&G Architects and Engineers of Wheeling designed the renovations with detailed input from the police department leadership. Waller Construction of Washington, Pennsylvania, and their subcontractors performed the renovations.
Main Street Bank handled the city's bonds that provided the financing package for the project, which is ultimately being paid by money generated through the city's User Fee -- a $2 per week fee paid by people who work in Wheeling.
Half of that new fee goes to public safety projects that are used to pay for the new police and fire department headquarters.
In 2018, Wheeling City Council attempted to pass a levy that would generate funds for a new Public Safety Building for police and fire forces. Although a majority of voters supported it, the levy failed to reach the 60 percent approval threshold that is required in West Virginia for such a ballot issue to pass. Only 54 percent of voters supported the levy, so the previous city council had to find a creative way to raise funds in order to move the project forward.
"It was probably the low point of my time in office with all the criticism we received, but that's what made this possible," Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott said of the unpopular User Fee when it was imposed. "I think the future is going to judge the decisions we made a lot more kindly than maybe many did in the times that we made them, but those are decisions that I'm very proud of, and I think I speak for everyone on council that we're very proud to see where we are today."
Elliott noted that the result of the User Fee - the new police headquarters and forthcoming $9 million Fire Department Headquarters in East Wheeling - represent "a critical new investment in the city's future for public safety."
The former police facility was in use since 1959 and long outlived its usefulness, the mayor noted.
"For 64 years, we asked the men and women of the Wheeling Police Department to operate out of a facility designed for mid-20th century law enforcement," he said. "In the 1960s, '70s and '80s, that was probably a fair and reasonable request."
It was not reasonable in 2016 when city officials began looking seriously at relocating the police department, Elliott said. The former space was "woefully inadequate, outdated and not good for morale," according to the mayor.
Residents who took advantage of the open house tours on Wednesday agreed, especially those who had seen the previous police station.
"I'd been in the other police department in the City-County Building," said Wheeling resident Kathleen Antonucci. "It was the most cramped little quarters that they had - I cannot imagine what it was like for them to have to work in there. But this is open and lovely. It's gorgeous - just a beautiful facility. I think it will set an example for other police departments to come take a look and see - this is a state-of-the-art building."
Antonucci said she and other residents on her tour were very impressed with the new facility and all it has to offer.
"I thought it was excellent," she said of the tour. "I'm so happy that it is so spacious and beautiful."
Renovations of the building were completed earlier this year, and the department completed its move into the facility on March 20. Officers noted that there was somewhat of a learning curve moving from a cramped old facility into the spacious new headquarters.
"It definitely took some getting used to - going from 4,000-some square feet to almost 36,000 square feet," Lt. Russell Campbell said. "But we had opportunities to go through the building while construction was still going on. Once we started moving in - patrol being in first, and then other offices afterwards - we really got a feel for the new building.
"This is leaps and bounds above what we had before.We're able to host our own trainings and classes. The opportunities here are immense compared to what we had. It makes the job that much easier to perform for everyone, it's a more professional atmosphere and the training opportunities are tenfold compared to what we had."
Chief Schwertfeger said citizens will benefit from the fact that they will now have a highly trained police force in a modern facility that is second to none in the state.
Roseann Ferro of the office of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., sent regards from the senator echoing those sentiments. Ferro also presented an American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol to the Wheeling Police Department on Manchin's behalf.
Manchin and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., helped secure a $1 million technology grant via federal appropriations to help equip the new police facility with the most modern tools available.
The new facility includes larger office spaces for officers, civilian staff and community outreach programs. It also boasts enhanced training and community rooms, a physical fitness area, a safer booking area, a kennel for the K-9 unit, a secure area for evidence storage and processing and a spacious break room for employees. The building is also equipped with cutting-edge access control and security features, including state-of-the-art cameras, a highly secure main entrance and lobby area, and a safe room.
"The new police headquarters, I believe, is now the best in the state," Herron said. "It will serve our police officers and, as a result and very importantly, our citizens for many, many years to come. Our taxpayers, city council, city administration, the engineer, architects and contractor, as well as the men and women in the department, should all be congratulated on a job well done."