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March 21, 2006
The city of Duluth is unveiling its brand new state of the art Public Safety Building on Saturday, March
25, 2006 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and the public is cordially invited to tour the facility. Located at 3276 Buford Highway, this 43,000 square foot building was designed to meet the needs of law enforcement and the Duluth municipal court for some time to come. The building was designed to be a highly visible cornerstone for the planned revitalization of the Buford corridor, which will begin when the current downtown project is complete.
Mayor Shirley Lasseter
is delighted with the newest public building, which was a long time in coming. “We are so proud to share our new Public Safety Building with the citizens of Duluth and all of Gwinnett,” she said. “Our police divisions have been spread throughout the community in five different locations for years, out of necessity. Now they are all in one building which will provide the far more efficient services that our citizens require for the safest Duluth ever! This state of the art facility should last way past my lifetime and handle all of the needs of the citizens of our community for years to come. It has been a long time in coming for all of us, but especially for our officers. Our police and courts have waited over fifteen years for this facility and have been very patient with us. They deserve the very best and I believe that is what they have received for their dedication! We are proud to present this new public facility to the public and hope to see you all there at the Open House on Saturday.”
City Administrator Phil McLemore
said the facility was constructed with security in mind, in light of the Fulton County courtroom incident. The building houses a camera monitoring facility for high crime areas and key intersections throughout the city which will allow the police to respond even faster and which will certainly deter future crime. Duluth was the first city in the United States to install a new training simulator for police. Other municipal police departments may rent this to do their own officer training. The city has also hired a full time judge to provide the city with municipal court four days per week, thus reducing waiting time on cases.
Duluth Police Chief R.D. Belcher
remembers when the police department operated out of a building a little ways up the road, at the corner of Buford Highway and Hwy. 120. This building no longer exists today. Back then, it housed the police department, the water department, and city hall. The police department shared a restroom with the prisoners back in the 70’s. That must have been special! In 1980-81 the police department moved to the first floor of the city hall location on Lawrenceville Street. They are now operating out of the snazzy new building that has a gold dome on top and plenty of parking.
Chief Randy Belcher was appointed acting chief of the department in October 1983 and appointed chief in January 1984. July 29, 2006 will be Chief Belcher’s 30th anniversary with the Duluth Police Department. Now his 74 officers and employees do their work in a $12 million building. For the last five or six years, the department has been so cramped for space that the uniform division has been operating out of W.P. Jones Park and the C.O.P.S. division out of Bunten Road Park.
Chief Belcher said that the new home for his department is “tremendous!” The Duluth City Council worked hard to make this happen.
Former Councilmember
Maxine Garner
was a huge help, in on the beginning of the plans and worked diligently providing hands-on approval and input. Councilman
Doug Mundrick
was also instrumental in the successful bringing-about of this Public Safety Building.
So, come on, folks! Take a tour during the Open House on Saturday. I’m told refreshments will be served. See you there.
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