Police substation temporarily closed

Marisa O’Neil

The year’s rains have left the Costa Mesa Police Department’s

Westside substation a soggy mess, forcing police volunteers to move

out while renovations are being made.

For now, the operations that would normally take place at the 18th

Street facility are going on at the main station at 99 Fair Drive,

Sgt. Marty Carver said. Those services include electronic

fingerprinting for jobs that require background checks. The workers

have moved too.

Because the substation is staffed only by volunteers, patrol

operations will not be affected, Carver said. Anyone in need of

police assistance should continue to call the department or 911 or

come in to the main station’s front desk.

Substation operations will continue at the main station and will

return to the 18th Street facility once renovations are over, Lt. Les

Gogerty said.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter that also used the substation

has temporarily vacated the building. And the police department’s

citizens police academy, which normally holds classes at the

substation, will continue at the Fair Drive location, Carver said.

The department took over the substation in the 1980s to

concentrate its efforts on the city’s Westside, which was

experiencing an upsurge in crime.

It serves as an “information hub,” where residents and visitors

can get general information about the city and the department, Carver

said.

This winter, the leaky roof led to damp walls and soaked carpets,

he said.

“Sometimes there were more buckets than floor in there,” he said.

All will be fixed and the bathrooms renovated during its closure,

he said.

The substation is expected to remain closed for about four months.