PROVINCETOWN — About 300 people listened to speeches, watched a color guard raise the flag, and then took a freeform tour of the town’s new police station at 2 Jerome Smith Road on March 20.
The $17-million structure had been years in the making — although exactly how long seemed to vary depending on the speaker.
“It is said that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, and for me that step was in 2009 when I was first shown a needs assessment for a new police station,” said Police Chief Jim Golden. “It only took us 15 years, but we got there!”
“I began my career in one of these seats here,” said retiring state Rep. Sarah Peake, gesturing toward the select board members seated near the microphone, “and I remember those years with great fondness. But I do remember the police station coming up time and time and time again.” Peake was a Provincetown select board member from 2002 to 2007.
“I’m so happy everyone is here to enjoy this new facility,” said former select board member Bobby Anthony, who was the town’s police chief from 1992 to 2002. Anthony said that the police chief and fire chief who served before him had fought over land for a new station. “God, this building looks good after 30 years,” he said.
Town Manager Alex Morse, select board chair Dave Abramson, and building committee chair Jeff Mulliken all thanked town meeting voters and the volunteers on the building committee. More than 50 students from the Provincetown Schools sang the national anthem while a color guard led by Deputy Chief Gregory Hennick raised the flag.
The ribbon was cut, and people streamed into the building, where they were met with a spread of refreshments from Angel Foods and Far Land Provisions.
Inside, many officers said they were seeing the station for the first time; the department’s official move-in date was still a few weeks out. Town residents and officials from across Cape Cod milled about, checking out the dispatch room, the sergeants’ office, even the pristine inner sanctum of the evidence room.
“Officers put evidence into these lockers, and then they’re opened from the other side,” former building committee chair Sheila McGuinness told onlookers. “Only two people have access to that room — not even the chief.”
Chief Golden, meanwhile, escorted the chief and deputy chief of the Harwich Police Dept. to his new office, only to find Bobby Anthony testing out the chief’s chair.
The star attraction, of course, were the five holding cells. Nearly everyone had a comment about the metal toilets, concrete beds, and their personal odds of an overnight stay.
It was a warm day for March, and the gathering of so many people made summer feel closer. Provincetown’s new police station has a contentious history and an undeniably serious purpose — but for that one afternoon, the building made everyone smile.
