MOORPARK : Police Plan New Station Downtown

A police storefront station is scheduled to open Oct. 1 in downtown Moorpark.

The station will occupy about 120 square feet in an abandoned bank building the city owns at 18 High St.

The rest of the building will be used by Charles Abbott & Associates, which does contract engineering work for the city. Abbott & Associates will make about $40,000 in renovations to the building in lieu of rent for the next two years.

More than 20 local residents have volunteered to work at the storefront, which will be used as a clearinghouse for information on local law enforcement and crime prevention. It is expected to be open about 40 hours a week. The volunteers will be asked to staff the storefront desk for four hours each week.

A Ventura County Sheriff’s Department cadet will work at the storefront station about 20 hours a week, and volunteers will supplement the cadet’s time, said Lt. Martin Rouse, who heads the Moorpark Enforcement Division for the Sheriff’s Department.

Eventually, Rouse said he hopes to have the facility staffed totally by volunteers.

Deputies from the Moorpark Enforcement Division will drop by the facility on patrol, possibly using the site to write up police reports, Rouse said. City officials hope that the increased police presence downtown will make people more comfortable and improve business on High Street.

A grand opening will follow the annual Moorpark Country Days Parade, Rouse said. For more information about volunteering, call Deputy Jody Keller at 494-8258.