Mount Vernon will receive $2 million for a new Police Department station from the One-time Strategic Community Investment Fund. State Senator Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) announced the investment earlier this month.
"This is fantastic news," Police Chief Robert Morgan said, according to a Mount Vernon press release. "As everyone working in our department knows, the current facility is not just out of date for a department and a city that are growing, but it’s also literally unsafe. Moving into the new station on Sychar Road is going to be a huge morale booster for everyone in this department."
According to the Mount Vernon press release, the city entered into purchase agreements on four parcels near the Public Square to build a new Municipal Court building as renovating the existing building at 5 Gay Street was prohibitively expensive. The circa 1974 building also houses the Mount Vernon Police Department, which will need to move. That move will be to city property at 71 Sychar Road, across the road from the Hiawatha Water Park. All department assets will be consolidated there.
Construction costs and a completion date aren't known for the new police station, according to the Mount Vernon press release. The consolidation of its assets to one location will enable the city to repurpose the Greenwood Avenue facility now used as a police impound lot.
Two other Knox County projects received investment funding, according to the Mount Vernon press release. Fredericktown received $750,000 for water infrastructure improvements and $125,000 was awarded for Family Fun Grounds in the county.
