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New government complex brings big technology upgrade in Dade City

 
Dade City’s $6.6 million government complex at 38020 Meridian Ave. includes the latest equipment for police.
Dade City’s $6.6 million government complex at 38020 Meridian Ave. includes the latest equipment for police.
Published March 17, 2016

DADE CITY — Police officials are beaming over the city's new police headquarters, which features cutting-edge technology — part of a new government complex recently opened to the public.

Last week, Mayor Camille Hernandez and fellow Dade City commissioners cut a ribbon on the new 21,000-square-foot complex, which will house both the Police Department and City Hall at 38020 Meridian Ave. in downtown Dade City.

Hundreds of residents, business people, dignitaries, government officials and police officials attended the ceremony, which culminated with Hernandez and City Manager Bill Poe raising the American flag in front of the complex and the ribbing cutting. The mayor also announced that a time capsule buried on-site will memorialize the opening.

Completion of the $6.6 million complex will mean a streamlining of all city operations, which will be welcome for a staff that has been housed in various buildings throughout the project.

"We are a one-stop shop at its very best," Hernandez told the crowd.

The crown jewel of the complex is the new police headquarters, which has propelled the department into the modern era of law enforcement technology. Police Chief Ray Velboom joked that communications within the former police building, which had not seen many upgrades since the 1980s, had fallen so far behind that it was like talking through tin cans on strings.

Now, police officers in the city are outfitted with the latest equipment in their vehicles and are connected to the department, which has seen major technology upgrades, including consolidation with Pasco County's 911 system.

The new Police Department also holds a state-of-the-art forensics room, a secure sally port, secure cell blocks, hard and soft interview rooms, a safe room for victims coming in off the street and upgraded property and evidence rooms.

"Morale is through the roof," Velboom said.