Public Gets First Glimpse of Long-awaited Facility

By Oliver Lukacs
Staff Writer

August 27 -- Hundreds of curious members of the public got their first glimpse of the jails cells where they'll stay if arrested, the dispatch center that will receive their 911 calls and the counter where they can pay a parking ticket at the grand opening of the new Public Safety Facility Wednesday.

A small explosion of multi-colored streamers and confetti after a ceremonial ribbon cutting by the City’s top dignitaries inaugurated the futuristic glass, brick and chrome six-story building, which carries a $63 million price tag after construction overbids nearly doubled the initial estimated cost and delayed its completion.

A large crowd lined up in front of the towering structure behind City Hall for a chance to scour the new headquarters for the police and fire departments, whose ranks were out in force displaying the tools of their trade for the public to touch and see as they ate free hot dogs and drank complimentary soda. (Photos by Frank Gruber)

“As we approach the 21st century, the outdated technology of the existing facilities posed significant barriers to providing the quality and level of customer service that our community expects and deserves,” said Mayor Richard Bloom addressing the crowd under a clear blue summer sky.

The new “safe and efficient” facility will provide “state-of-the-art service to the community for the next 50 years and beyond,” Bloom said, adding that the growth of both departments was outstripping the old facilities.

The fire department’s support staff, Bloom said, was housed in trailers in the early 90s, while the old police building which was designed for only 100 employees now contains several hundred more.

Bloom took the opportunity to acknowledge the work of the two departments, along with the community, after a car plowed through a crowded Farmers Market last month killing 10 and injuring dozens. The tragedy, Bloom said, happened “only six Wednesdays ago” and “will not soon be forgotten.”

“On behalf of the residents of Santa Monica I want to say thank you to our first responders. Thank you to the police and firefighters of this city,” Bloom said.

Fire Chief Ettore Berardinelli, who was one of many City employees who anxiously watched and waited for nearly a decade to see the facility become a reality, said it was worth the wait. “As the saying goes it takes time to make important things, and it takes time to make them with care,” Berardinelli said.

“We’re here to today to dedicate a symbol of the present and a promise of our future, a future that will see additional innovations and ideas to keep pace with the needs of our city," Berardinelli said. "The City is committed to public safety and this building is a symbol of that commitment.” (Fire Chief Ettore Berardinelli addresses the crowd as Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr., Mayor Richard Bloom and Assistant City Manager Gordon Andersoon look on)

The fire department's addition of paramedic services, hazardous materials response and urban search and rescue response, as well as a Special Entry Team (SET) -- the City’s version of SWAT -- to the police department necessitated a bigger facility, Berardinelli said.

“This building will cause us to bump into each other everyday,” Berardinelli said, referring to police officers and fire fighters, “and it will only increase our efficiency in administrative areas and in emergency response.”

Recalling the days 50 years ago when police officers were summoned to the nearest call box through a Batman-like light signal atop City Hall, Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr. said that the 21st Century facility “represents a rebirth for our police department.”

With state-of-the-art communications systems and cutting edge satellite technology able to pinpoint and dispatch the closest available police car within moments of a reported incident, the department has come a long way, Butts said.

The facility, Butts said, is much more than a place where police officers and equipment are housed, “it is a unified command and control center that can rapidly and effectively deploy public safety resources.”

Butts ignited a burst of laughter when he told of how upon his arrival in Santa Monica 12 years ago, he was told by fellow officers that “we would have a new police facility any minute,” Butts said, taking a moment to reflect with a smile. “And finally, finally.”

With the new facility -- which now bears it’s image on every police officer’s badge, replacing the old miniature relief of City Hall -- the police department and the fire department is prepared to handle any disaster “natural or man made,” Butts said

Butts also took time to acknowledged the six police officers who “paid the ultimate sacrifice” with their lives serving the community, who died in the line of duty in the department’s 107 year history.

Adding to the early recognition of the facility for its “green” eco-conscious energy efficient features, representatives for State Senator Sheila Kuehl and State Assembly member Fran Pavley presented Mayor Bloom with certificates of recognition acknowledging Santa Monica’s dedication to public safety.

Councilman Ken Genser, who was on hand with the entire council, said the facility “was badly needed.

"I am very happy that we are finally at the point where we have facilities to meet the needs of the community," Genser said. "I am very impressed with the level of thought and detail that went into the design of the facility.”

Genser said the synergy that will come from the two department’s sharing a roof during emergencies will lead to “much better coordination than we’ve ever had before.”

Members of the public seemed equally enthused. Many toured the 118,000-square-foot structure after getting the chance to pet one of the two horses put on display by the police department’s mounted unit, touch one of the military issue automatic weapons used by the SET or talk shop about finger prints with forensics officers or Harley Davisons with the officers who ride them.

Richard Suey, a computer programmer in Santa Monica, thought the facility was very modern. “The dispatch center is more modern than my office.” Asked if the modern facility looks too friendly for a police station, Suey said, “If you ever get down to the jail it still looks pretty scary.”

Andrew Bilson, a Santa Monica resident in slippers and shorts, looked a little out of place in the empty emergency operations center lined with desks and equipped with the latest communications and broadcast equipment.

Looking around the space resembling a war room where a president might be briefed about a pending nuclear disaster, Bilson praised the building’s “incredibly contemporary” design.

But, while Bilson said the facility was “long overdue” he was upset that the cost -- originally projected to be $31 million -- was “twice over budget." But he added, "as long as nothing else was sacrificed too much, I suppose it was worth it.”

With her voice echoing through the cavernous hallway of the empty, florescent-lit, electronically controlled 55 jail cells tucked two floors underground, a woman who would identify herself only as Dolores agreed that the facility was overdue.

“Very often we don’t think of our service officers as first-class citizens but as second-class citizens, and everybody hears about the wrong that they do and nobody hears about the good that they do. I think it’s about time that the City backed them up,” with a modern home more worthy of the service they provide.

While the people-friendly design of the facility almost made some forget they were in a jail, a woman entering the underground jail chambers brought its function back to reality.

Putting her hand on her young son’s head she said: “Take a good look, because you will never see this place again.”

Joining Police Chief Butts in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Mayor Bloom and current and former council members Ken Genser, Herb Katz, Asha Greenberg,Paul Rosenstein, Judy Abdo, Pam O'Connor, Ruth Ebner and Kevin McKeown.