Aside from an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, city police are firing on all cylinders at the new Barrie-Simcoe Emergency Services Campus.
The $100-million facility, located on Fairview Road and within view of Highway 400, is fully operational and has been for a few weeks, but it flew under the radar because the completion of the move coincided with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This building has already proven its value to the service," Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon told BarrieToday from the confines of the new headquarters. "To the members here, it's great to have everyone under one roof."
The new building brings the entire department together for the first time in many years, after operating out of a handful of buildings in the city's north end. Consolidating the facilities is expected to save money in years to come.
The relocation from the former Barrie police headquarters on Sperling Drive and secondary office space on Bell Farm Road began March 7 and continued until March 16.
With the city's emergency control group convening on March 13 and the state of emergency being declared locally on March 23, the move into the new headquarters in the middle of all the mayhem.
There's plenty of space in the Fairview Road building for the police department to carry out its emergency plan, which was put into effect at the same time the city declared a state of emergency.
"We put into play our police operations centre specifically with COVID-19 situation and we're dealing with that on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour basis as it unfolds," Leon said.
"In the event that a meeting has to be called, we can deal with it effectively and efficiently, where we're not driving from one location to another location," he added. "With something like this (pandemic), time is of the essence. We're anywhere from one floor to two floors away maximum. We can be there within seconds."
Although it's "business as usual for Barrie police" since moving into the building in mid-March, it's not quite the hive of activity one might have expected while seeing it under construction for several months.
"In a pre-COVID or post-COVID world, it would be a very bustling location," he added. "However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we are working with essential services only So, our front-line officers are here and we are running with a small group of civilian members."
But the "vast majority" of civilian workers are working from home, Leon said. The Barrie police IT team has been able to set up employees with laptops if their duties could be handled remotely, such as people in the records department.
One of the priorities during the move was the quartermaster's store, where protective equipment is kept, for example.
"We were able to have that kit ready to go and have officers equipped, depending on how COVID-19 unfolded and impacted the service," Leon said.
Simcoe County Paramedic Services are also operating on-site.
"It's proven to be very helpful having them here, as well," Leon said. "The paramedics are dealing with things on the front lines, the same way we are, so we can liaise with them and determine what are the best means and practices for our officers to deal with situations they may encounter out in the community.
"Having the paramedics as our neighbours, literally next door, has been fabulous," he added. "We look forward to that relationship getting better and better as time goes on."
Barrie Fire and Emergency Services also has a back-up dispatch centre at the facility, but they haven't set up yet.
"It will serve as a primary back-up location in the event they have an issue or concern with their primary location," Leon said.
The lease expired March 31 for the building located at 60 Bell Farm Rd., while the former headquarters building is owned by the city. What happens next with the old HQ remains to be seen.
Another building on Bell Farm Road will still be used for training purposes.
