This area of south Porterville has been growing rapidly over the last ten years. There's the Walmart distribution center, brand new hotels and restaurants nearby and now city officials want to build a brand new police and fire station to accommodate all that growth.
Crews are already finishing up construction of a roundabout, that will go near the busy intersection of Highway 190 and Jaye Street in Porterville. The area is also where the city of Porterville's new public safety building will go.
The 13,000 square foot building will house three fire engines, and the two southern sectors of the police department, bringing much-needed coverage to the southern half of Porterville.
Porterville Fire Chief Glenn Irish said, "Some of those on the farthest fringes of that highway 190 corridor can be a 10-12 minute response from here and for fire suppression and life safety that's too long. We like to keep that at about 5 minutes."
Up to four full-time firefighters will be consistently staffed at the new facility, which will also have bigger stalls for the fire engines, sleep quarters, a kitchen and office space.
The fire department says the area has a lot of fires. The southern half of Porterville is also popular for new construction.
Chief Glenn Irish added, "Residential housing, it has commercial, it has industrial, it has schools colleges hospitals, the Porterville dc, the Porterville airport."
The $5 million project is being paid for entirely through measure h -- a half-cent sales tax approved by voters.
More than two dozen police officers will work there, using new evidence and interview rooms, allowing the Porterville Police Department to spread out and update its current headquarters.
Sgt. Dominic Barteau Porterville Police Department explained, "I think that we've done a good job of moving office space around and using the space that we have but having that additional space will free up room here to expand some other areas that need to be modernized."
Construction bids for the facility are expected to go out by the end of this month. The project should be complete by July of next year.
