FRPD settles into its new home with a smile – and continued unpacking

Above, FRPD Chief Kahle Magalis greets the media in public entranceway lobby of the new town police headquarters at 900 Monroe Ave. Photos/Roger Bianchini

On Monday, April 29, one week after the Front Royal Police Department transferred its base of operations out of the old and into the new, Chief Kahle Magalis offered the media a tour of that new. The new is the department’s new headquarters at Monroe Avenue’s intersection with Kendrick Lane. And while the length of the building runs along Kendrick, with its public entrance facing Monroe the address is 900 Monroe Avenue.

Greeting media at the public entrance and parking lot on Monroe Avenue, one of the first stops was what Chief Magalis described as a public meeting room.

“If somebody needs a meeting space and we’re able to make it happen for them then we’ll do that. This is the citizen’s building, we’re just living in it,” Magalis said of the community’s $10-million investment in a state-of-the-art police headquarters. It is an investment designed to take the department out of the past – a past that has included inadequate space to house the department under one roof since before its 2013 move into the old Jackson Street sheriff’s office – into a future forecast to stretch 40 years forward into the neighborhood of 2060.

Not far off the public entranceway a meeting room is available for citizen activities upon scheduled request – we hear the security is excellent.

Which one media humorist present – guess who – pointed out likely means the Front Royal Town Councils of that era will probably accomplish replacing the then 41-year-old building by the year 2100.

But today’s move – better late than never – is from the 7,236 square foot former Warren County Sheriff’s Office, as well as whatever square footage the department’s investigations unit occupied in the Town’s Comcast building on North Royal Avenue, into a two-building complex totaling 21,000 s.f., 14,600 s.f. in the front, main structure and 6,400 s.f. in the second, westernmost building. The last Town-owned police headquarters in the former post office at the intersection of West Main Street and Luray Avenue totaled 4,032 s.f.

So Magalis suggested visitors used to FRPD’s past locations not overreact to a sense of spaciousness in the new headquarters. “They designed it with that in mind, to accommodate that future expansion – that’s the new place. We’re tickled to death with it; we really are,” the chief said of his department’s reaction to its move. That department currently employs 52 staff, including 39 sworn law enforcement officers and 13 civilian support staff.

Built to last – architect’s aerial perspective on the 21,000 s.f. FRPD facility projected to serve 40 years of town and departmental growth

While moving into a single location, modern headquarters is the realization of a professional dream for the department’s personnel the chief noted that fatigue may be the dominant reaction thus far. To a great extent the move had to be accomplished by department personnel due to the nature of the materials being moved relating to law enforcement activity and equipment. But the department should be ready to celebrate, along with the citizens they serve, by the time an open house scheduled for the first week of June rolls around.

How is the adjustment to the new digs going, we asked the chief.

“It’s going to take some time – it’s like crawling out of a cave into functioning society, but we’re working on it,” he laughed in response.

The communications room was manned by Cassie Courtney during the April 29 media tour

Magalis said he has already observed a positive professional impact from moving the department under one roof. “You can walk down the hall instead of a couple blocks over to holler at people … the guys are seeing each other, the detectives are seeing each other at lunch or whatever – it’s just through the course of having that contact the information gets passed along faster.

Speaking of lunch we saw a nice kitchen, as well as some break areas spread through the facility – and even managed to score a donut from one of two boxes brought over by a new citizen neighbor. “Michael Williams brought these over,” this reporter exclaimed upon the news – “Oh yea, he owes me a donut from way back, I think, mind if I collect?” I asked, making sure a bust for stealing departmental assets wasn’t to follow my foray into the donut box.

Moving from the main, front building into the courtyard separating the two-building complex, Magalis and Major Kevin Nicewarner pointed to the stone wall separating FRPD from the rear of neighboring residential homes. Magalis and his major noted that the wall was designed to minimize noise and lighting consequences of the department’s presence from the closest of its new neighbors.

Above, Chief Magalis and Major Nicewarner in the outside lounge between the two buildings; below a neighborly wall – constructed not only for security, but to minimize departmental noise and night lighting from neighbors.

“We’ll still be out here slamming car doors at two or three o’clock in the morning; radios will be going off and everything else; so you want to try to be as environmentally friendly with the neighbors as possible,” Magalis observed.

“We’re trying to keep as much normalcy in the neighborhood as possible,” Magalis said of shielding the light and noise pollution of 24-hour-a-day police activity from neighbors.

The chief said there were still punch list tweaks to the building being accomplished by the contractor, primarily on the outside – though one suddenly pumping, unused air nozzle in the enclosed back garage area gave a noisy punctuation to the ongoing punch list work.

As we made our way back through the facility it was observed that the building had that “new car smell” to it, though perhaps more appropriately it should have been “new PD smell” – though none of us present had likely ever experienced the scent of the latter previously, at least not without a visit to an outside jurisdiction.

But no more, right here in River City law enforcement has met the 21^st Century – and they like what they have found there.

Captain Crystal Cline welcomes the press to the second building housing an enclosed garage – recalcitrant air hose hangs from ceiling between utility vehicle and motorcycle; and K-9 units among other things. The main staff parking lot is visible beyond dog run and garage bay doors at the western end of complex.

Officer Bryan House at work at computer terminal in common area leading to break room

Above, Patrol Division briefing room; below a schedule and event board; and below that a clean captain’s office

There is a physical component to the job – portion of the gym and staff lockers beyond

The bike patrol room needs a little work

Evidence lockers and evidence collection materials

Above, the chief in main break area; and yes, even law enforcement officers get some down time

Facility dedication plaque near front of main building

A view of Kendrick Lane out the front public entrance-lobby area where the chief greeted us to begin the tour

Patrol cars re-entering the facility