Jackson police officially have new digs.
The City of Jackson and Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the city's police station, 202 W. Jackson Blvd., on Friday morning, and the ceremony included comments from Mayor Dwain Hahs, Chamber president Brian Gerau, contractor Phil Penzel and police chief James Humphreys.
"The partnership of the department with the community and the Jackson school district is a benchmark example we should be honored to be a part of," Hahs said in his introduction at the ceremony. He said the planning of the building has been six years in the making and that the new location will help the police department serve the community.
Humphreys said the new 18,000-square-foot facility provides lots more space and better safety than the previous location. The department moved into the new location some eight weeks ago, he said, and have worked well in the new headquarters. He noted with COVID-19 social distancing, keeping a six-foot distance is much easier in the larger location.
He said the public safety tax, which was passed in 2018, made the new location possible; Humphreys expressed his gratitude to community members Friday.
"I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart -- this community and its citizens," he said.
Penzel Construction company was chosen as contractor of the new headquarters, which cost $6.5 million.
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