April 9, 2021

It was an event 138 years in the making, Chief Danny Whiteley said Friday, as the city of Poplar Bluff broke ground on the first police station designed and built specifically to house its officers. When construction finishes in 2022, the city will have more than four walls and a roof, according to Whiteley. It will have a tool that strengthens the Poplar Bluff Police Department’s ability to serve the citizens, conduct investigations and protect witnesses, suspects and crime victims...

It was an event 138 years in the making, Chief Danny Whiteley said Friday, as the city of Poplar Bluff broke ground on the first police station designed and built specifically to house its officers.

When construction finishes in 2022, the city will have more than four walls and a roof, according to Whiteley. It will have a tool that strengthens the Poplar Bluff Police Department’s ability to serve the citizens, conduct investigations and protect witnesses, suspects and crime victims.

The police department was established in May 1883, Whiteley said.

“And amazingly, now 138 years later, our city and our law enforcement officers are getting their very first-ever new building, specifically designed as a police department for the officers to work out of to serve and protect our city and our citizens,” he said.

The 27,000-square-foot structure is designed to serve the city for projected growth over the next 40-plus years, Whiteley said.

“A lot of us here today know this was not a slam dunk project from the start,” Whiteley told more than 50 current and former city officials, county officials and others who attended the event on Shelby Road. “And obviously, there is never a perfect time to appropriate money for a project of this magnitude.

“Over the past five years particularly, we have had many very spirited and mostly respectful discussions and debates about the new police department. But through teamwork, perseverance and factual transparency coordinated with local, state and federal law enforcement professionals, we are here today.”

The department’s success has been because of the “greatest working relationship in the state,” with agency cooperation crossing jurisdictional boundaries to fight crime across Southeast Missouri, Whiteley said.

The facility is expected to be complete in the fall of 2022. Construction cost will be approximately $8.1 million, city manager Matt Winters has said previously. Additional costs for professional services, technology, furnishings and financing will bring the total to approximately $11.3 million.

Mayor Robert Smith noted the city celebrated a milestone two years ago when it opened the portion of Shelby Road that will be home to the police department. Friday marked another milestone, he said.

“They are going to have a new home here in Poplar Bluff,” he said. “As I said earlier, it’s always an honor to see this kind of growth in our community. Once again, Poplar Bluff, keep growing.”

Both state Rep. Darrell Atchison (R-District 153) and Sen. Jason Bean (R-District 25) also attended the groundbreaking, and spoke of the benefit of the progress for the region.

“We are very blessed in this country to have some of the finest women and men protecting us each and every day,” Bean said. “This is very well deserved. I’m very proud for the department.”

It is exciting to see so many developments in the district, Atchison said.

More than 10 years of work, and many different people have been involved in the planning process, Winters said. Brockmiller Construction will handle construction and Police Facility Design Group has handled the design.

“Our police department staff has been really hands on involved in this process,” Winters said. “I’m sure they can’t count the hours they have spent with the architect. They really went over this with their staff to make sure that what the final design project was, was going to be something that would take care of their needs and provide them a safe, long-lasting facility to work in.”

The facility is going to provide a level of safety and security for the officers and community that the city hasn’t had up to this point.

The project would not have moved forward without the work of former city manager Mark Massingham, Winters said.

“I think this is really exciting for Poplar Bluff,” Massingham said. “The city is 150 years old and the police department was started 13 years later.”

Massingham praised the design effort, which included talking not only to leadership at the police department, but also all of its patrol officers.

Bishop Ron Webb helped open the ceremony with a prayer for the strength and courage of members of law enforcement.

Butler County Emergency Management Agency Director Robbie Myers oversaw the introduction of speakers.

The new building would be funded through the sale of certificates of participation, which would be subject to interest and repaid over a 25-year period.

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