SAN PABLO — Concerned residents of San Pablo, Richmond, Berkeley and San Francisco showed out to a recent San Pablo City Council meeting to implore the body to revisit — or terminate — its plans to build a new $44 million police headquarters and regional training facility.
San Pablo is slated to be home to a new two-story, 42,000-square-foot Police Department Headquarters and Regional Training Facility by the end of 2025. The project is planned for a 2.26-acre lot on the corner of Gateway Avenue and Chattleton Lane, adjacent to the new City Hall.
Opposition to the project has been steady. Small groups largely made up of young people of color began protesting the development last July both in the community and online. Then in September, the East Bay-based Stop Cop Campus coalition, held a rally in Kennedy Plaza opposing the project.
The group put out a call for support on social media last week encouraging the public to attend a San Pablo City Council meeting this Monday to speak out against the project. The item wasn’t on the agenda but some speakers asked that the issue be revisited.
Among the concerns raised was the project’s $44 million price tag, which speakers said would be better spent on other community needs like housing and public spaces. They also argued policing has become more militarized across the nation and the community is not made safer by increasing the number of officers in departments.
“It’s unfortunate and frustrating to see how the City Council is allowing this kind of militarization and violence to permeate our community when it has been voiced time and time again that cops do not keep us safe, when it is obvious our community, our youth would benefit from the millions of dollars to be poured into actual affordable housing, health resources, public spaces, rather than a shooting range for cops to play around in,” said Luz Contreras, a San Pablo resident who lives with her family, including four younger siblings, just around the corner from where the new facility is being built.
Two meeting attendees, former Mayor Cecilia Valdez and current San Pablo Police Department employee Jonah Norman, spoke in support of the new facility. Valdez said she and other homeowners in the Abella Circle area believe the facility will make the local community and region safer.
Norman lauded the police department for its mentorship and career opportunities, and asked that the council continue to support the organization.
“I implore you to recognize the holistic impact of these initiatives and to continue supporting the police department in its mission to serve and protect,” Norman said.
Councilmembers did not respond to comments made during the meeting. Mayor Patricia Ponce and Police Chief Brian Bubar did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Peggy Chou, the police department’s public information officer, said in an email Thursday that the public comments made during the Monday meeting “do not reflect the overall support from local residents and businesses for continued public safety investments, and for those who value safer streets and neighborhoods in San Pablo.” Instead, she said, commenters aimed to “discredit and undermine” the project.
“The City of San Pablo is focused on making significant public investments in affordable housing, capital projects, public safety infrastructure and technology, and other important City programs to support our local schools and community,” Chou said.
The project, once complete, will include a training facility with classrooms for formal lessons and a 20-lane gun range, new Emergency Operations Center and will serve as a home for a new mental health crisis response program.
The city will use more than $28.8 million from lease revenue bonds, $4.3 million from American Rescue Act funds received for COVID-19 relief and $10.4 million from the city’s general fund reserves to cover the cost of the project.
The project budget is equal to about 65% of the city’s $66 million of expenses last year. Meanwhile, the city is preparing for a budget shortfall of $2.1 million in fiscal year 2024-25 and $3.58 million in fiscal year 2025-26, which staff has proposed covering largely with reserve funds.
Multiple speakers from Monday’s meeting said they intend to continue protesting the facility’s development and use by neighboring police departments.
“We’re going to keep coming back,” said Raymond Windell, a San Pablo resident who’s attended four council meetings so far to protest the project.
Source: www.mercurynews.com