Wednesday, March 29, 2000
Police station gets face lift
Chief, officers doing work in their spare time
BY SARA J. BENNETT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LOCKLAND — When Police Chief Ken Johnson finishes his shift these days, he trades his uniform and firearm for grubbies and a paint brush.
Mr. Johnson is helping remodel Lockland's police station with his own bare hands. Also in on the project are Police Officer Scott Godbey and Firefighter Greg Wehmeyer.
Using a little bit of thrift and a lot of elbow grease, the men have ripped out walls, painted, replaced carpet and ceilings, rewired, installed new windows and revamped the bathroom — all on a budget of about $6,000.
They're transforming the police station in Lockland's 100-plus-year-old village hall into a sunny, professional looking workplace that co-workers say is already boosting morale.
“It looked like The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family,” Mr. Godbey laughed about the station's old look.
The station has needed a face lift for awhile, and the need has grown with the department, Mr. Johnson said. Lockland's police force went from 12 full-time people about five years ago to 15 full-time people and five part-timers.
Still, money has been tight.
Finally, Mr. Johnson and his co-workers decided to tackle the project themselves. They got about $6,000 from the village. They persuaded Lockland's TMI Electrical Contractors to donate wiring and lights. They went to the Community Resource Center in Evendale for discounted wall dividers, computer desks, counter tops and other office equipment.
And they opted to do most of the work themselves. Rather than go home after their shifts, the men have spent every evening for the past five weeks working on the station.
Had they hired someone to do the work and not looked for bargains on the materials, Chief Johnson estimates the project could have cost more than $40,000.
One highlight of the proj ect has been uncovering windows that had been covered with drywall. In the old days, people thought police stations were more secure without windows, Chief Johnson said. But reinstalling them has made the station a friendlier-looking place, and passersby have commented that they like being able to see into the station.
The remodeling project nears completion this week, and folks say they already can sense that the new look is making a difference.
“It's funny how when you do something like this, everybody's suddenly picking up after themselves,” Mr. Johnson said. “I think it's better that we did it ourselves, because then you have a little more pride.”
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