CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and her administration are taking steps in 2022 to build a public safety center for first responders.
During Goodwin’s State of the City address last week, she stated her office will commission a feasibility study & design for a new public safety center that would house city police, fire and emergency responders.
Goodwin said her administration has looked into the possibilities of a center by studying public safety buildings across the country and gathering input from officials. Now with American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding, the city is moving ahead to the study process.
“Where would it be located, how much would it cost, what would the functionality be in the building,” Goodwin told 580-WCHS of what the study would do.
The first step for the city is to place the feasibility study & design into the ARP suggested budget that would allow the city to pay for planning, design, development, and location possibilities. Goodwin then said the city could hire a firm and begin to put out bids for work.
Goodwin said the city does not have any leads for a possible location but the study should reveal spots.
“What current pieces of property within the city do we own that we could purchase that would house such a facility and within that facility, what do we need. What are the things that the City of Charleston could use in a public safety center,” Goodwin said.
The mayor added this has been something that has been asked for in recent years. City police currently have offices at the bottom of Charleston City Hall and the mayor said often times officers “are falling all over each other.”
“First responders need facilities in which they can truly work and live out of. This is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week job,” Goodwin said.