HOUSTON – Oct. 10, 2018 – Spring ISD on Tuesday held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its new Police Command Center and Tax Office, built under the district’s 2016 Bond program.
With Spring ISD Police Officer Candyss Roberson kicking off the afternoon ceremony with her singing of the national anthem, the event also featured musical entertainment from Roberson Middle School students, along with remarks from Spring ISD Superintendent Dr. Rodney E. Watson, Board President Rhonda Newhouse and Police Chief Victor Mitchell.
“This day wouldn’t be possible without everyone working together to make it possible,” said Mitchell during the ceremony. “We are especially grateful to our voters who passed our 2016 Bond so that we could buy and renovate this building into a modern facility to better serve our Spring ISD community.”
During her remarks, Newhouse noted that it had been more than 15 years since the opening of the department’s previous facility on North Forest Boulevard, also a renovated space that was repurposed by the district after its acquisition. For many years, Newhouse said, the North Forest location served the district well, but the department’s growth – combined with flooding problems in the neighborhood around the old station – made it the right time for the move.
“Our highly trained officers are essential to our school system,” Newhouse said, “not only providing a safe environment for our students and staff but serving as positive role models throughout our community. We’re grateful to our bond voters who recognized the importance of our Police Department and Tax Office and gave us their support so we could purchase and renovate this building.”
The new facility, a nearly 42,000-square-foot building located at 420 Lockhaven, more than doubles the space available to the district’s police department, while also providing a much-needed new home for the Tax Office – previously operating out of a temporary building – as well as additional space to accommodate the district’s technology and risk management teams.
Fallbrook Church Pastor Michael Pender was also on hand to offer a special blessing of the newly redesigned and renovated building. After the ceremony, attendees were invited on tours of the new facility led by Spring ISD police officers. The Lockhaven facility’s first floor now includes office and work spaces for the police department, a dispatch center, processing and interview areas, and property storage space, with the Tax Office and technology employees on the second floor.
“I’m just excited that we got here finally,” said Chief Operations Officer Mark Miranda after the ceremony. “It’s good to have a vision and to see it come to reality. And the most exciting part is that it meets a need.”
Project Manager Mike Langley from GPD Group, the architectural firm that oversaw the redesign and renovation process, said that the district had been fortunate to find a building with so many of the necessary elements already in place – such as the large central bay that could be converted into a sally port for safe, secure entrance to the building – allowing the firm to design a facility that will continue to meet Spring ISD’s needs for years to come at a much lower cost than building from scratch.
“It’s an exciting project,” Langley said, “and we’ve enjoyed being a part of it. This was the perfect building for Spring ISD to find, and it’s a good use of taxpayer funds.”
The superintendent took time during his remarks to acknowledge the many district supporters who helped make the project possible, including members of the bond steering committee and local community members who stood behind the project.
“Students are always the focus of what we do,” Watson said, “and schools deservedly get most of the attention. But other services, like police and tax collection, are also vital to the success of our students, and this building will help assist that important work.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony comes as part of the district’s continued progress on its commitments under the 2016 Bond program. Other major projects now in the works include the construction of two middle schools, three ninth-grade centers, and a replacement district stadium, as well as deferred maintenance, safety projects and technology upgrades at several facilities.
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