The Unified Government broke ground Friday on a new police station in Argentine, next to the Walmart Neighborhood Market that opened in 2014.
“This facility is the second police station command center we have opened in my tenure, the last three years,” Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Mark Holland said at a ceremony. “It’s putting the police in a place that is most effective for the community and most effective for customer service.”
Holland said the new, $2.25 million South Patrol Division signals the investment county commissioners are prepared to make in to eastern Wyandotte County.
“The priority of this commission has been very clear that we need to take the success out west and bring it into our urban areas,” Holland said.
The new police station at 2100 Metropolitan Avenue will replace a 1950s substation on South 34th Street.
At the groundbreaking, Police Chief Terry Zeigler pointed to blueprints of the new patrol station, which include a glass-walled community meeting space.
“The building was designed with the idea of encouraging community interaction with our officers,” Zeigler said. “It really speaks to the department’s commitment to shifting to a philosophy of community policing.”
About 60 percent of the Unified Government’s general fund pays for public safety. There’s been a push to rebuild public safety infrastructure in Wyandotte County in recent years. The commission has studied the fire department and the jail. It’s in the middle of a police study right now.
Elle Moxley is a reporter for KCUR. You can reach her on Twitter @ellemoxley.
