AND HERE WE GO

For anyone that follows the comments on the blog, parking at the new Public Safety Complex is turning out to be a big issue.

This was a project that was put on the planning table by a corrupt administration and three groundbreakings were held  before the funding was ever in place,  probably to make it look like they were doing something. A full floor was cut off the building, a full level was cut off the proposed parking garage and many other areas were scaled back, including the community room and the roll call room for patrol officers, which now could probably be used as a phone booth if they were still around. The Emergency Operations Center  takes up a large part of the facility, even though it will hardly ever be used.

Back to the parking, the gravel unpaved lots around the new building are being used for parking for the police officers personal cars. The lots are not secured and are not well lit or very accomodating. Last night marked the first officers car that was broken into while he was working and the glove box was rifled through and the cars registration taken. That is probably a little unnerving to the officer knowing that someone now may have his home address and personal information, depending how he registered his vehicle.

At least one Deputy Chief is showing leadership by example and he has begun parking in the same unpaved lot that the officer's are requiired to park in foregoing his private spot in the elevated , secure garage.

Sometimes you have to wonder how other cities and towns like New Britain, seem to get it right almost effortlessly while Hartford continues to trip over itself at almost every step.

It also seems that someone forgot to notice the building faces east and Teleserve Officers are blinded in the morning as the sun rises without any blinds on the windows.Now you would think that someone who was overseeing the construction might think to himself, "gee, this lobby is awfully bright in the morning, we might need to order some blinds".

 Nope.Maybe he didn't arrive from Suffield before the sun rose.  I was a little surprised during the walk through of the building at the location of the property room on the ground level. One look up and all I saw were mechanicals, plumbing pipes, heating and cooling pipes, waste water. Any one of which would damage an awful lot of evidence if and when a pipe breaks.

All in all it is better than 50 Jennings Road, but it would have been nice to see it working right from the start. We ask an awful lot of our police officers, is a paved lot too much to give them in return?