SARTELL -- Construction continues to move along inside the new Sartell Public Safety Facility.

Crews have been working on plumbing, installing electrical work, putting up drywall, and painting offices to the 45,000 square-foot police and fire station.

Police chief Jim Hughes says one room his department is looking forward to having is the short term booking and holding area.

We had no way to secure anyone, while we dealt with multiple in custody people. This way it cuts down on us having to assign an officer in front of a door as we can monitor by camera or have one person monitor all three rooms.

Hughes says from a functional standpoint the building will provide a more efficient working environment and gives their department more storage space in areas like the evidence room, which is lacking in their current facility.

We go from about 87 shelves in our current location to over 220 shelves in our new location to help secure and hold evidence.

The roughly $13-million facility is on time and on budget, with expectations to be completed in July.

The Public Safety Facility is located north of the Heritage Drive roundabout along Pinecone Road.

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