After decades of doing work from a portable and months of construction and delays, Police Services finally moved into the new Campus Safety Center this past Friday.

Police Services staff were on schedule to move over spring break (April 1-5) with the building still powered by a temporary generator. However, the fire equipment that was expected to be installed delayed the moving date once more.

Police Lt. Thomas Holt said, “The people who are installing the fire alarm system did not get it finished in time, so we had to reschedule the move.”

The move could not be completed without the fire alarm control panel in place.

He said while Siemens, the company contracted to install the equipment, finished its portion of the project, services were not completely operational.

Monitoring the fire alarms and the Public Safety Assistance buttons are crucial components the Police Services had to have in place when they settled in to ensure that there is no loss of security on campus.

In the meantime, other improvements were taken care of such as setting up internet and telephone connections and placing trash bins in each of the rooms.

Custodial services also went in to clean the floors and have the area ready for moving day.

Critical Solutions consultant Pablo Raguero is the point person working to get the department moved in to the new building on time.

Raguero works for the district to manage the construction projects on campus but declined to comment on the timeline for finalization of the fire panel electrical work.

With moving day approaching, Police Services worked together putting all the department’s files into boxes.

Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said, “It will be a smooth move” and the entire process was projected to be completed in one day — Friday.

Nor Cal Moving Services arrived at the Campus Safety Center early on Friday as scheduled to complete the relocation.

Carmen Infante, who led the moving crew, waited to speak with Raguero before getting underway to finalize the move.

They were uncertain of how many trips would have to be made, between the old building and the new building.

“I’m not sure. Maybe until 4 or 5 p.m.” Infante said.

At 10 a.m. at the new Campus Safety Center, movers were rushing in and out with wagons of boxes behind the building directed by police aides who stacked boxes on top of each other.

In each of the rooms, printed numbers and schematics were taped onto the walls explaining where the furniture should be placed along with the boxes.

Brand new televisions were mounted onto the walls ready for use along with the telephones and computer systems.

By 10:30, the movers were packing up the moving equipment as they completed the entire process in one trip.

Police Services is now officially situated into their new location near the center of the campus, next to the Gymnasium.

“It’s an ideal place for them to be. The building is brand new and will better suit their needs,” King said.