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Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesGOVERNOR VOWS QUICK FIX TO ZONE A BUILDING

GOVERNOR VOWS QUICK FIX TO ZONE A BUILDING

Gov. Charles W. Turnbull came to Zone A Command Wednesday, he saw the conditions police have been complaining about, and he pledged an all-out effort to see that the obstacles to addressing them are conquered.
The time frame by which police assigned to the Zone A Command can move into their old, but newly renovated, headquarters at the Criminal Justice Complex is to be determined in a 3 p.m. Thursday meeting of police, Turnbull administration and court officials.
But the governor assured the officers who have been working at tables and desks outside the Zone A building for several weeks that the administration will pull out all the stops to see that temporary repairs are made to the dilapidated Norre Gade structure to make it habitable until the Criminal Justice Complex renovations are completed.
Turnbull, Police Commissioner Franz Christian, Assistant Commissioner Bruce Hamlin, Police Chief Jose Garcia and Turnbull's special assistants Ohanio Harris and Roy Frett and confidential assistant Horace Brooks toured the run-down structure Wednesday to see first hand the problems officers have complained about for months.
The governor sat behind the desk where officers said rodents and an iguana have been living. The group saw the gaping holes in the dropped ceiling, the roof leaks and the overall lack of maintenance in the building, which also houses the Police Department's Traffic Bureau and the School Crossing Guard Division.
Outside the headquarters, Turnbull pledged his support to step up efforts to provide the officers a more suitable environment. "I have assured the officers that some temporary repairs will be made until we can relocate them to the Farrelly Justice Center," he said.
The governor said he had been assured by Territorial Court officials that "all is being done to expedite the work" at the justice center. But he reiterated his commitment to seeing temporary repairs made at the Norre Gade station because the present situation "is not conducive to a good and healthy working environment."
Christian appeared pleased that the governor met with the police union officials and pledged his support to bring some relief to problems they have outlined time and again. "The governor has reassured me that the resources, both financial and otherwise, will be available to make repairs to the building," he said.
The commissioner said not only officers assigned to Zone A will be relocated to the justice center when it's ready. "We are going to move the entire Zone A operation, as well as the forensics unit, into the building the first chance we get," he said.
The presidents of both the Law Enforcement Supervisors Union and the Police Benevolent Association expressed satisfaction at the assurances they received Wednesday morning. "I am pleased that the governor and the commissioner came down and saw this situation for themselves," Capt. Al Donastorg, the LESU head, said. Officer Elroy Raymo, head of the PBA, said police officers would be pleased that the governor "intervened and has pledged to address our myriad of concerns about the conditions in which we work."
Raymo said the union's next move would be discussed at a membership meeting he called for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Zone A headquarters. "The fact that they [administration officials] are looking into the problems and have pledged to step up efforts to get us back into our old home is reassuring to me," he said.

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