MCFARLAND, Calif. (KERO) — It's been seven months since a $5 million allocation was given to McFarland and its police department. Construction hasn't began and city officials says it's due to lack of funding.
- It isn’t just a police station that will occupy the corner of Mast and Taylor. An emergency center as well as a police activities league will also be built.
- Mayor Ayon says it’s a plan that could take up to 36 months to complete, he says they’re still currently in the planning stages.
- Because three amenities are set to be built instead of one — the city needs an additional 7-to-9 million dollars to complete everything.
Back in February, we told you that this plot of land on the corner of Mast and Taylor would soon be home to McFarland's newest police station. However, the city says although the timeline has changed, the plan hasn't.
"It has to do with the funding,” said Mayor Saul Ayon. “We got the initial $5 million, but we need an additional 7-to-9 million to complete these projects because it is not only a police department but its an emergency center and also a police activities league."
Mayor Ayon says although they're celebrating the acquisition of the land, he said they haven't been able to start construction until they secure the remaining funds.
The current police station is located inside City Hall.
Taking a look inside the station with police chief Brian Knox, he tells me the space is small and inadequate for their needs.
"This one door is our current property room. This is a basic that is converted into a property room. So, an officer gets a property they will have to come here and book it,” said Chief Knox. “It's kind of in a hallway where you have a lot of people walking in and out, and potentially, if there is an arrested subject, they'll have to walk behind the officer as they're doing the booking process."
This has been the state of the McFarland police station since 1957.
Chief Knox says while the new station fixes these issues, the additional amenities have also been needed for decades.
"If we have any type of flooding like we did a year and a half ago, we can run emergencies, emergency services, out of that facility,” said Chief Knox. “The training facility, any police agency loves to do training on-site so that we don't have to send people away to other cities."
Mayor Ayon says it was important to him to not only construct a new station, but the extra additions will also provide a positive, safe space for local youth.
"The fact that we have at-risk kids, we need a location for them to gather like other communities have,” said Mayor Ayon.
Overall, the mayor says this is a project with a lifespan of 0-36 months.
The current goal is to break ground by 2025.
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