ALABASTER, Ala. (WIAT) — In Alabaster, construction is almost done on the city’s new police department.

City Administrator Brian Binzer said this new addition is not a want but a need for the police department and community at large. He said Alabaster Police have not seen a new building since the 1950’s. This one will offer new features like a fitness center, locker room, and break room.

Binzer said this will also allow all of their officers to meet and function under one roof. They’re currently spread out throughout the city.

“It really does unify the police department,” said Binzer. “When you think of different types of occupations, you know, your facilities are often important for when you’re looking for a new job or you want to recruit people. People want to feel like it’s a great place to work in a new building and all the technology that comes with it is going to be critical to recruit new officers.”

Binzer said this will also be a welcoming place for the public. It will offer meeting and training spaces for multiple organizations, too.

He said this is a huge need from a public safety standpoint, especially for community members.

“Public safety is one of the priorities of the city, obviously from a quality-of-life standpoint,” said Binzer. “People need to feel safe in their community. And so, we put that really high up on the list. Obviously education is really important. You know, having a new commercial development, parks, all those things, but public safety is way up there on the list.”

Binzer said it will also offer new and critical technology through an in-house crime scene investigation unit.

“The type of technology they have there is going to be critical for their investigation services,” said Binzer. “You’ve obviously got a lot more space for the officers. The break room is really good, you know because you need some down time between shifts and those types of things.”

Binzer said they are looking to do a ribbon cutting in June. In CBS 42’s initial report, the city had their eyes set on a potential opening date in December of last year, but Binzer said construction delays caused a slight setback.

He also noted the city has a big list of other new projects with multiple efforts of improvement underway throughout the city. He said the two most notable are a recreation center and new library.