Our Kent Police provide excellent service from very cramped quarters.
If your family lived in a house that was 41 years old and had never been remodeled, it would be a problem. If your family more than doubled in size and didn’t have one more additional square foot of space, it would certainly compound your problem.
From 1991 to today our Kent Police Department has grown by 69 percent and our community has increased by 229 percent. Our Kent community has a space problem.
The old Kent Library (current Kent Police headquarters) with 15,000 square feet was built in 1973 and designed for a library. It was remodeled once in 1991 to house a police force of 85 officers. Today we have 144 officers who are scattered in four different locations.
My family is spread out over five cities (including Honolulu) and getting us all together in one place for even special occasions is a real challenge.
Chief Ken Thomas faces that challenge every working day. Space is needed where officers can meet and share information and crime data. Teamwork and efficiency depend on officers having common space and frequent contact.
Kent Council President Dana Ralph remarked the other day, “When I toured the police facilities I was struck by how inadequate and inefficient they are. We are better than this.”
Kent citizens have an opportunity to correct this space problem when we receive our ballot. We can support our nationally accredited Kent Police Department by providing the expanded space they desperately need. Support Propostion A.
Marvin Eckfeldt is a retired minister and former chair of the Kent Human Services Commission.
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