March 5, 2010 - Congressman Boucher and members of the Radford police department break ground for the City’s new public safety building being constructed with more than $7 million in federal funding.

Radford Public Safety Building Groundbreaking Ceremony

March 5, 2010

Radford, Virginia

          I am pleased to return to Radford today to break ground on the City’s new, federally funded public safety building.

          Currently, the City of Radford’s police department is housed in a 120 year old building. As a result of the building’s advanced age, the City is unable to outfit it with many pieces of modern technology police departments today require, and the City’s emergency communications center must occupy a separate building entirely. The building is inaccessible to individuals with mobile impairments and has very limited security, preventing the building from being accessible to the City’s residents 24 hours a day.

          To address this problem, I have been working with the City of Radford for several years to secure funding to construct a new, modern public safety building that can house all of the City’s emergency services operations. With the benefit of nearly $7 million in federal funding provided at my request, construction on the new public safety building begins today.

          As part of the project, the former Old Colony Box Factory here on Robertson Street in West Radford, which is 45,000 square feet in size, will be refurbished. Only a small section of the existing building will be demolished, making way for a secure sallyport for prisoner transfer. The City will renovate the rest of the building, installing a new roof, improving its façade and transforming the interior into a state-of-the-art public safety facility.

          When completed, the new building will house the Radford Police Department and Emergency Communications Center. In addition, a portion of the building will provide space for additional City administrative offices and new City Council Chambers. Construction is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2011.

          The total cost of the new public safety building is approximately $7.6 million. At my request, Congress has approved federal appropriations totaling $437,000 for the equipment needed to outfit the new building. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture through its Rural Development Agency, at my urging, has provided a low-interest federal loan of nearly $7 million for the renovation of the former box factory for the new facility. The City of Radford will provide the remaining funds necessary to complete the project.

          I would like to take the opportunity of these remarks to express appreciation to the many individuals without whom today’s groundbreaking would not be possible.

          I would like to thank Radford Mayor Tom Starnes and the other members of the City Council for their continuing efforts to develop a new public safety building for the town.

          I would also like to thank David Ridpath, Radford’s City Manager, and his excellent staff for their tireless work toward the success we celebrate today.

          I also want to thank Travis Jackson with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Agency for his efforts to secure this funding.

          Senator Jim Webb, Senator Mark Warner and former Senator John Warner all deserve our appreciation today for helping to secure the federal appropriations that make today’s groundbreaking possible.

          I would also like to recognize Don Goodman, Radford’s police chief, for his efforts on behalf of this project.

          The new Radford public safety building will greatly benefit the City by improving the efficiency of its emergency operations and providing much needed space for the City’s administrative functions. I want to congratulate all for the cooperation and successful work that have led to today’s groundbreaking.