Howard police and fire recruits finally can say goodbye to long bus rides to train outside the county ? traveling to one site for classes, another for physical training and yet another for fire simulation.
A long-awaited public safety training center in Marriottsville will bring all fire and police training onto a single campus.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Police Chief William McMahon on Monday at the dedication of the new center, named for state Sen. James Robey, D-District 13, former Howard police chief andcounty executive.
The road leading up to the center was named Scott Wheeler Drive, in honor of the Howard police corporal who was killed by a car while conducting a traffic stop in June.
Support for the new 38-acre training center at the edge of the Alpha Ridge Landfill wasn?t always as strong as it was at Monday?s event. For years, the $35 million capital budget project competed for funding with schools and other projects.
“Some people felt it wasn?t as appropriate to spend money on this than on other things,” said Public Works Director Jim Irvin.
Residents near the center also raised concerns about noise and other disturbances, Irvin said, but officials redesigned the center to minimize the effect on the community.
Robey lobbied hard for the facility, taking on the “naysayers and opponents” who said the county didn?t need a training facility, and the recruits could travel elsewhere for training, McMahon said.
The first few phases of the project are complete and include a classroom building, fitness area and storage facilities.
Future phases, one to be complete next summer, include facilities for police and fire simulations, K-9 training, a firefighting tower and enclosed firing range.
The idea for a county training facility reaches back more than three decades, Robey said.
“I was just fortunate to be in the right place and the right political office at the right time to make it happen,” he said.
IF YOU GO
» What: Open house and tour of the James Robey Public Safety Training Center
» When: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday
» Where: 2200 Scott Wheeler Drive, Marriottsville
