SPD seeks to expand its facilities
SALISBURY, Md. — The Salisbury Police Department is seeking to expand its facilities. The city is considering abandoning a stretch of Burton Street and transferring ownership to the department so it can expand its space and operations.
The ordinance from the Salisbury Police Department went before the City Council on Monday night. If approved, Burton Street would be closed off for public access, and the Salisbury Police Department would take ownership.
“This is just kind of officially closing that portion of the roadway off so that we can use that as part of our footprint for the police department here,” Capt. John Felts said.
Officials said the street is rarely used by the public. It is currently used by the department for overflow parking and for patrol cars to enter and exit the building.
“I mean we use it to get in and out of the department daily. There is parking on the side of that street for police personnel. Outside of that, that’s all we’ve used it for,” Felts said.
Closing off the street for public access will also prevent trespassers from loitering behind the building, according to police.
“We have had persons come into the rear part of the facility where it’s not generally open to the public, and we’d be able to close that off for security reasons,” Felts said.
The Salisbury Police Department and city officials said they have tentative plans to build a second building on Burton Street to store vehicles and equipment.
“We would like to put a building across there so that we can store some of our specialty vehicles in it. That would be down the road sometime. But we’d also be able to close that off so there’s a little more security to the back of the police department here,” Felts said.
“We’re thinking about a three-stall building for, I think, three different pieces of equipment. It’s more for the tactical team stuff, which we don’t use all the time, but we want to keep it out of the weather,” Mayor Randy Taylor said.
A final decision is expected to be made at the next City Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 10.
