Laura Bond, Reporter
08-05-2008
The Ruston Police Department might soon have a new home.
During their regular monthly meeting Monday evening, City Council members approved the purchase of Ruston’s old Post Office for $875,000.
Once renovated, the building on the corner of Florida Avenue and Trenton Street will be the new station for Ruston’s police.
Currently, the police station is located inside City Hall.
City Public Works Director Lewis Love said there has been discussion about finding a new location for the police station for years because the City Hall location is largely overcrowded.
“It’s big enough for our current needs and to grow,” Love said of the new location, adding it was about triple the size of the City Hall location. “We’ve looked at a number of
different sites in town and negotiated with a number of different building owners.
Obviously the most cost effective way is to move into an existing building.”
Love said the building appears to be in good shape mechanically, but may require renovations to rearrange the space to suit the needs of the police.
Ruston Police Chief Steve Rogers said it was “wonderful” that the council approved a new site.
“It will be a great morale booster for (the police) to know we have room,” he said. “At some point with the property annexations and the city’s growth, we must look at expanding the force (and this opens up room for that.)”
The building currently houses several businesses, including Best Home Health, Scriber Insurance and Commander Communications.
Mayor Dan Hollingsworth said the property’s location is in a centralized area of the city.
“I think having it next door across the street (from City Hall/Civic Center) is much more suitable than having it somewhere else,” Hollingsworth said.
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