Police Station Grand Opening Planned

A grand opening will be held Saturday to celebrate the new Moorpark police station on Flory Avenue.

The Moorpark Police Service Center has been open for several weeks and has been a big draw for residents, Capt. Mike Lewis said.

“Walk-in traffic here has just about doubled from when we just had the storefront,” Lewis said. “People are glad we’re here and they don’t have to drive all the way down to the Thousand Oaks station for services any more.”

A small storefront station, sandwiched between a grocery store and other business offices, used to be the only police office in the city.

But that storefront was staffed by volunteers. That meant most services, such as filing a report or speaking to a detective, required a trip to the Sheriff’s Department in Thousand Oaks.

Moorpark contracts with the department to provide police services.

A larger building on Flory Avenue has allowed department employees to be housed in the Moorpark facility. Office personnel include a captain, two detectives, two DARE officers, a community policing coordinator and several volunteers.

Patrol officers, however, will continue to work from the Thousand Oaks station, Lewis said. He expects that in five years, when the lease on the new space expires, the department will move into an even larger facility--complete with locker rooms and briefing areas to accommodate patrol officers.

Department officials say they are content with the new address and thank officials of Moorpark Unified School District for helping them make the move. The space belongs to the district and used to house its administrative offices. When the district recently moved to larger offices, officials made special arrangements to lease space to the Sheriff’s Department.

Office rent for the first year is free. It jumps to $1,400 a month beginning July 1, 1999, and increases $400 each year until the contract expires in 2002.

The station will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 532-2700.