7/28/04

Residents Invited to Public Safety Station Dedication Ceremony and Open House
August 19 Event to Include Tours of New Facility, Special Speakers, Refreshments, and More

The Holly Springs Public Safety Department is inviting residents to drop by its new headquarters for a dedication ceremony and open house Thursday, August 19, at 6:30 p.m. The new facility is located at 110 West Ballentine Street, adjacent to Town Hall.

Special speakers at the event include Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison and NC Crime Commission Chair Linda Hayes. Holly Springs speakers include Mayor Dick Sears, Town Manager Carl Dean, Chief of Public Safety Cecil Parker and Commissioner Parrish “Ham” Womble. Following a ribbon cutting, Town police officers will give tours of the two-story building, and light refreshments will be served. A fire truck will be parked nearby, and Town firefighters will be on-hand to give children the opportunity to see the view from the driver’s seat.

The new public safety station, a renovated historical two-story brick building, was constructed in the early 1900s and most recently housed Holly Springs Auto Parts. As part of the renovation process, the building was gutted, leaving only the outer shell of bricks and the slab on which they rested. The 5,000-square-foot station’s first level includes a lobby, a conference/training room, officer workstations and a telecommunications room for dispatchers. The upstairs includes interview rooms, an additional conference/training room and offices.

One bonus of the new station is that it is located adjacent to the Holly Springs Town Hall – a convenience to residents. Little & Associates Architects, the firm that designed Town Hall, also designed the renovations to the police station. Both Town Hall and the police station are constructed primarily of brick, and both have a light gray, cement-colored base. The cost of renovations for the police station was $550,000. Public Safety transferred its headquarters to the building in March.

Public Safety relocated because of a need for more space and because the condition of the facility it was using, a century-old house along NC 55, was deteriorating. The new station is more than double the size of the house where Public Safety was located. In addition to having more room and allowing every police officer to have a workstation, the new station contains an updated electrical system. This allowed Holly Springs to have its own 911 call center, which was activated in June.

Eventually, the property where the police were formally housed is tentatively planned to be sold for commercial development, along with the adjacent fire station property. The downtown fire station is to be relocated next to the Moravian Church property on Holly Springs Road by 2005. The relocation of the fire station from NC 55 will increase the distance between it and the Town’s Avent Ferry Road fire station, providing more even fire protection throughout the Town.

Town of Holly Springs - PO Box 8 - 128 South Main Street - Holly Springs, NC 27540 - (919) 552-6221 - Holly.Springs@hollyspringsnc.us