GATESVILLE, Texas (KXXV) — The Gatesville Police Department may soon have a new home.
On Sept. 24, 2024, the Gatesville City Council approved a contract with MRB Group to provide architectural and engineering services for a potential new police facility. Since then, city staff and police leadership have been evaluating two options: remodeling the existing building or constructing an entirely new one.
Watch Allison talk to city leaders about why a new police facility is needed:
Lieutenant Sid Post, who began his career with Gatesville PD in the current building, said the department has reached a turning point.
“This is kind of where it all started for me, for Gatesville,” Post said. “There is that — there’s always voices in the hall. Every time you move from a new house — old house — into a new one, same thing with buildings. Where you’ve been, the people you’ve known. But at some point, it’s just time to move on and continue going forward."
The police department said its existing facility is no longer meeting the needs.
“We have outgrown this building. It has served its purpose, and now it’s time,” Post said. “We are running out of office space. We have had to get creative in where we are housing people, so far as different divisions. We now have evidence, criminal investigations, patrol, command staff, dispatch — things as simple as the outlets in the walls.”
Last fall, after analysis by MRB Group, city leaders determined that building a new facility would be the most beneficial. The preferred site, located at 2525 Osage Road — formerly home to the Rotunda Nursing Home — offers more space, better parking, and a location closer to Gatesville ISD campuses and areas of projected city growth.
“It’s going to be better for the community. It’s going to be more of a central point. We are going to be closer to the schools than we are now. We are excited about it. We are excited about what it is going to mean — what it is going to do,” Post said.
Gatesville PD said the current building lacks secure evidence storage, proper HVAC systems, modern safety and wellness features for staff, and adequate space for patrol operations, dispatch, and emergency management.
The city emphasized that the project is still under review. No final proposal has been submitted to council yet.
“It is going to enable us to serve you better. It’s going to help us protect you more,” Post said. “We are going to be doing things that we should have probably been doing 10 years ago.”
If the plan is approved, the city would explore funding options, including debt structuring, grants, or low-interest loans.
