In November, area dignitaries gathered in Centreville for the much-anticipated groundbreaking of the new Sully District Police Station.
But now, thanks to Fairfax County budget constraints, the facility will get built, but may not open until spring 2004 — a year later than planned.
Under pressure from homeowners and the school system, county executive Anthony Griffin ordered nearly $50 million slashed from the proposed budget so this money could be shunted to the schools, used to reduce the property-tax rate or both. And the new police station was on the hit list.
The delay would save the county $5.5 million in salaries, cruisers and other equipment for the 25 officers that would staff the new facility. But the suggestion surprised Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully), who says he'll fight to have the station open on time.
"Obviously, it's a fairly big-ticket item," he said. "[But] I think [delaying it's opening] is absolutely one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard. I think people would be upset if we built a public facility with bond money that they approved and let it sit empty for a year."
Frey said the county's already done it elsewhere — building a new jail, but having to double-bunk prisoners in the old one because it doesn't have enough people to staff it. Instead, he said, the sheriff spent the money that would have gone toward the new jail's personnel on salary increases for the old jail's staff.
"How could the county have credibility on any issue if it did something like this?" he asked. "How do you come back and ask for future bond money for other projects?"
The Sully District Police Station is Fairfax County's first new district police station in 15 years and is in acknowledgment of this area's tremendous residential and commercial growth. Besides reducing police response-time, it'll enable local residents to more closely identify with their local police department.
The 32,400-square-foot, one-story structure will be just west of Stonecroft Boulevard's intersection with Westfields Boulevard. Estimated cost is $7.5 million (from 1998 bond money), and construction could be finished by this Christmas.
The new station will contain police administrative offices, space for investigative officers and shift supervisors, plus roll-call and exercise rooms. Also planned is space for the school resource officers, crime analyst, crime-prevention officer, traffic-safety officer, selective-enforcements supervisors and the bike patrol and neighborhood patrol.
According to Fair Oaks District Station commander Dennis Wilson, "Initially, public safety was exempt from the cut because of the events of Sept. 11." Then Griffin told the police department to reduce its budget by 5 percent.
Wilson said county police chief J. Thomas Manger didn't want to do anything to lessen the safety of the public or the officers or hamper the delivery of services. "So he believed a delay of the police station would be the best way to do it," explained Wilson. "You try to find one program you're presently doing without and hope that, at mid-year, the Supervisors would somehow find the money."
The Fair Oaks station currently covers parts of five magisterial districts — Sully, Springfield, Braddock, Providence and Hunter Mill. In creating the new station, the other seven district stations were reconfigured.
"We were going to get some of our staff from them," said Wilson. "And my officers working the western end of the county would also get the chance to go there, if they wanted to."
He also noted that, although currently slated for an April 2003 debut, the station opening might be delayed a few months, anyway, if the county's technology budget is cut. If that happens, it could affect the computers earmarked for the new building.
One thing not in dispute, though, is the need for the new station in this area. "We're the largest police district in Fairfax County, covering 88 1/2 square miles and 165,000 people," said Wilson. "In 2001, Fair Oaks was the busiest station in the county, with 46,500 calls for service — including 6,500 responses to accidents. We lead the county in that."
He said Fairfax County has the fewest number of officers in the U.S. — 12 per 10,000 residents. "The national average is 29," said Wilson. "Fairfax County is the 14th-largest police jurisdiction in the country, in terms of population and land area, but 42nd [in] the number of officers."
At Fair Oaks, eight officers at a time work 11 1/2-hour shifts. That way, there's an overlap at peak crime times, 7 p.m.-1 a.m. when, ideally, two officers from different shifts would cover the same area. However, traffic accidents and drunk drivers are both time-consuming.
"A DWI arrest takes three to four hours to take [the driver] to the Adult Detention Center for processing and to go before a magistrate," explained Wilson. "So that officer is out of service for a long time."
Meanwhile, Frey doesn't really believe the county will postpone the station's opening. "I think the Board [of Supervisors] has a little more brains than that." Frankly, he said, he was a little surprised to see it on Griffin's cut-list. "It makes no sense," said Frey. "This year our revenue is up 7 percent — a couple hundred million dollars more than we had last year."
On Monday, the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) voted to oppose the cut. With population rising, said member Jim Hart, a county shouldn't skimp on police stations. "The additional response time from Fair Oaks could be better used than by driving out to [Sully Station]," he said. "To devote the resources to build it — and then leave it empty — is not logical. [It] would be a monument to inefficiency and inconsistency in decision-making."
Wilson says police would love to be in the new station and, as a commander, it would make his own area a little smaller. "We'll still deliver the service — I'd just like to be able to deliver more of it," he said. "We're making do with what we've got — which is what we've been doing since I got here 24 years ago."