New Madrid plans to combine city's police, fire facilities

Richard McGill, New Madrid city administrator, left, and Police Chief Joey Higgerson stand outside the current fire station facility on Highway 61. In April work will begin on a new police station there as well. Jill Bock, Staff

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Every time an officer turned his patrol car's lights and sirens on, Police Chief Joey Higgerson worried.

Not only because his officers were responding to a serious emergency but also because the streets the officer would travel to reach the scene were primarily residential. The location of the city's police station on Mott Street, just across from City Hall, meant the patrol cars often traveled along Mill, Davis or Scott streets which are traveled by pedestrians, children on bicycles and residents traveling in their own vehicles to and from their homes.

"It really makes me nervous there will be an accident," Higgerson acknowledged.

Those weren't the only problems the police chief faced.

The aging police station has some serious structural problems, including water and sewer lines which need to be replaced. According to Higgerson, it was estimated repairs could cost as much as $30,000.

Also Higgerson and his eight officers found the 1,400-square-foot station cramped. There was little room inside for writing reports and on the outside, parking often posed a problem, he explained.

"Initially we had the idea of building new building," Higgerson said. However, the architect's estimate of $800,000 to $1 million dollars for a new building just wasn't feasible.

For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.