Tupelo council approves new police department headquarters

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - The city of Tupelo will spend about $8 million on a new headquarters for the police department.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports (https://bit.ly/1N7kbn8 ) the bid was awarded Tuesday to West Brothers Construction Company.

Police Chief Bart Aguirre said the two-story building will bring most of the department’s employees and services under one roof for the first time in years.

Work on the 34,000-square-foot facility is expected to take about 18 months.

Plans for a new facility date to two city administrations ago, when city leaders issued bonds for a new police headquarters but never took action.

Instead, city leaders waited years for a federal investigation related to a contraband cigarette operation ended. Tupelo police assistance with the FBI and other entities resulted in the city acquiring $1.5 million and four acres of land at the future site of the headquarters.

Aguirre said a groundbreaking ceremony would be hosted soon to kick start the project.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, https://djournal.com