Lavonia Police Become Center of Attention

Home | Success Stories | Archived | This story

By Denise Matthews, Staff Writer
Franklin County Citizen
Thursday, January 11, 2001
Volume 29, No. 22

It will be the new hub of the city, the Lavonia Police Station is moving downtown.

Situated in the Lavonia intersection of Highways 17 and 59 (Augusta Road), in the building formerly known as Baskins Chevron, lies the new office of the Lavonia Police Station.

In reality, according to Gary Fesperman, Better Hometown Director, the police station is actually returning to its roots. Before it was housed in its current location in the Lavonia City Hall, the police station was located in the offices next to Canon Realty where Attorney David Vickers office is housed.

It was Fesperman and Mayor Ralph Owens who initiated the move and both are more than pleased with the result of their efforts.

"This is a great addition to downtown," Fesperman said of the newly renovated building.

"Everyone is happy to see it come," Owens added. "Most thought the police station needed to be in town anyway. This move gives the police station high visibility and puts it a half mile closer to the interstate."

Owens also said that the police department's new location will give the foot and bike patrols a more central location to operate from.

The idea for the move, the Mayor said, came when the city purchased the Baskins' property to make a new turning lane at the traffic light intersection. Fesperman said both he and the mayor were concerned that the building would have to be demolished to have enough room for the addition of the turning lane-but fortunately that did not happen.

Wanting to preserve the historic building, which Fesperman said was built around the time of World War II, several options were considered for its use, but it was the mayor who first opted for converting it into the city police station.

Mayor Owens said he liked the idea of having the police station in the downtown area and it seemed both he and Fesperman were on the same page. Getting another positive reaction from Lavonia Polic Chief Randy Shirley sealed the deal and the germ of an idea bloomed into a gem of a building.

With the aid of a University of Georgia design school student, renovation work began on the building about three months ago. It received some added space as well as a facelift.

The facility covers approximately 1,700 to 1,800 square feet and has five offices, a kitchen area, a holding cell, an evidence vault, storage area and a canopied entrance. All new plumbing, wiring and heat and air were installed. Radio equipment and atennas have already been put into place.

Painted a crisp blue and white, Lavonia's city colors and which also echo the blue and white color scheme of the patrol cars, the building features a rock pilar out front and rock border curving along the roadway.

"This is to go along with the rock wall around the fountain," Fesperman said of the decorative stone. "We want the renovation in the city to flow."

There will be a small landscaped lawn area in front of the building along with a flagpole and a Lavonia Police Station sign with raised metal lettering.

Although the parking area looks small, Fesperman said it can easily hold 10 to 13 cars. The building was also designed with growth in mind.

"The office can be added onto at the end," Fesperman said, "but if the department experiences a lot of growth, the building was designed so that it could be utilized for other businesses such as a real estate office or doctor's office."

Cost for the renovation will be released later. The city received $20,000 from the governor's discretionary fund, the mayor said. The extra funding was thanks to the efforts of Reps. Alan Powell and Jeanette Jamison, he added.

Chief Shirley said he was excited about the move and the two extra offices, evidence vault and storage area that he and his offices will soon be enjoying.

Mayor Owens said the building renovations should be completed by the first of February at which time the city will host an open house for everyone to view the finished product.