A little bit of ‘heaven’

MUKILTEO — Nobody misses the cramped, leaky warehouse.

Mukilteo police have swapped their former station for a new $4.4 million building where sunlight spills in from skylights, the wood-paneled ceilings don’t drip, and there’s plenty of space for the agency’s 24 officers.

"We feel like we’re in heaven compared to the other building," said Police Chief Mike Murphy, whose old office was too wet to work in for half the year.

The new building at 10500 47th Place W. opened last month.

Officers say it’s a much-needed improvement from the warehouse on Chennault Beach Road where police worked for 12 years. Before that, the station was located in a former funeral home.

The 47th Place station has 14,500 square feet — almost twice as much as the warehouse, which is also home to City Hall.

The extra space improves efficiency, Murphy said, and gives the agency enough room for evidence and records storage. At the old station, evidence filled the department’s two jail holding cells, leaving officers with no place to lock up suspects.

The new station includes two holding cells, in addition to an extensive security system designed to better protect victims, officers and police property.

You’ll soon be able to report emergencies there at night and on the weekend by picking up a phone in the station’s secure lobby. Anyone fearing for their safety can lock themselves in by pressing a red button.

"People can run to the police station and be safe here," Murphy said, noting that people who came to the old station after hours didn’t have any way of summoning aid.

Cameras also monitor activity throughout the building and panic alarms bring immediate help. Hit one and blue lights flash — Mukilteo’s version of a blue-light special, Murphy said.

The building, designed to withstand a strong earthquake, houses the city’s emergency operations center, too. The station was funded by a one-time sales tax on new construction and money from a real estate excise tax.

Officers say they don’t miss the old station’s persistent mildew or the roasting hot summer afternoons or freezing winter mornings. Police joke the building averaged 70 degrees — 40 below in the winter and 120 degrees in the summer.

"It was a metal building, so it’s like being in an oven when it heats up," Cmdr. Russell Harris said. "It made it difficult to do any work. During the winter, it was sometimes warmer outside" than in the station.

Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.

DAN BATES / The Herald

DAN BATES / The Herald

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