BENNER TOWNSHIP — Construction has started on the new state police barracks in Benner Township, the latest step in a plan to merge the barracks at Philipsburg and Milesburg — also known as Rockview.
Some officials still are not happy and say they want to make sure a new coverage plan will not be worse than before a merger.
Centre County commissioners sent their concerns to Gov. Tom Wolf’s office earlier this year, but never received an official reply.
Commissioner Steve Dershem said July 18 he was disappointed they did not get some affirmation of what the county felt were legitimate concerns.
“I just hope it doesn’t have a negative effect on citizens in outlying areas,” Dershem said.
The crux of officials’ concerns has to do with response time, with worries that far-flung areas from the location of the new barracks at the Benner Commerce Park would see higher response times.
Tor Michaels, chief of staff for Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, said the approach to have one barracks per county was “wrong-headed,” and the state should focus on geographic boundaries, not county lines when considering barracks locations.
“It sounds good on paper, but when you look at the logistics it makes no sense,” Michaels said. “Some of these counties are big.”
He said concerns about response time have not been alleviated, and said troopers could see long delays if calling for backup to rural locations.
In April, state police detailed their plans for coverage of eight different zones by the new Rockview barracks, and said troopers will have a mobile data terminal so they can stay on patrol throughout their shift, preventing them from having to return to the barracks. Police said there would be no reduction in the number of troopers.
Ryan Tarkowski, a state police spokesman, confirmed again there would not be a reduction in the number of troopers or patrol zones changes.
“When someone calls for help, it is likely that the trooper is responding from his or her patrol zone, not a barracks,” he said. “The patrol zones will not change. With advances in technology, troopers are spending less time at the station and more time in their assigned patrol zones.”
The Philipsburg barracks will not have any uniformed troopers, but would house administrative staff and support personnel.
Tarkowski said the original plan called for the replacement of the Philipsburg barracks.
“The existing Philipsburg location is no longer suitable to house a public-facing PSP station due to size, security and other limitations,” he said. “The original plan was to build a new station nearby in Philipsburg that would meet the department’s needs, but two separate RFPs failed to produce an acceptable response.”
Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, said July 18 the Philipsburg barracks was important to the community, as there were not many local police departments in that part of the Centre County. Still, he said it was a positive the barracks will not be completely closed and investigatory operations would still be conducted out of the station.
“It’s not perfect by any stretch, but it’s better than having it closed completely,” Corman said.
The cost of the lease at the new station will be $28,366 per month, or $340,402 per year. Hudson Companies is handling the construction.
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