Spring Garden Township’s ‘professional, updated facility’ will better serve residents

The Spring Garden Township Police Department and Administration staff moved into the new facility – designed by Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects – at 340 Tri Hill Road in early January 2021.

Residents stepping into the new Spring Garden Township Municipal building may not recognize all the changes the facility brings to township operations, but for employees, the new home to Administration staff and the Spring Garden Township Police is a considerable upgrade.

Township employees and about 25 police department staff members moved into the new facilities at 340 Tri Hill Road the first week of January 2021. The 30,000-square-foot, one-floor structure involved razing a former elementary school on the site that housed the police department and expanding a park on the grounds with a pavilion, basketball court, walking path, and open space.

Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects worked with civil engineering firm RGS Associates, which developed the entire site, as well as YSM as the Landscape Architects, which focused on the park.

“It means a lot to be in a professional, updated facility,” says Township Manager Marcy Krum-Tinsley. “That’s peace of mind for the employees and a new sense of efficiency in being able to provide a better service for our residents.”

Moving on up

The 1950s schoolhouse where Spring Garden Township’s police department was housed worked well for serving children in first through third grade, but it wasn’t the ideal place for a growing police department, says Chief George Swartz.

One of the biggest concerns was that there was no place for temporarily holding individuals brought back to the police department. Someone might be handcuffed and sit a mere 25 feet away from clerical staff, Swartz said.

In addition, the evidence storage was kept outside of the police department, without proper temperature control and an inconvenience for people to have to leave the building to dig through records.

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There also was limited private space to speak to victims, some who came to the department to talk with police officers about very personal, sensitive matters. A growing summer parks program also meant there were sometimes children in the building, and it didn’t make sense for those services to mingle, Swartz said.

“From the first time we sat down to look at the possibility of a new facility, we wanted to set priorities for how we could improve the service to our residents and support our employees,” Swartz said. “It was important that the footprint of the new facility aligned with the duties and responsibilities of this department.”

A modern atmosphere

Krum-Tinsley is grateful that the Township employees no longer have to go outside or worry about tripping on old stairs to simply go through Township records. Employees also no longer have to turn on space heaters under their desks in the winter or prop open doors with fans in the heat of summer.

There are simple upgrades to having a new facility, she says, like having reliable hot water and taking employee safety into mind by having bullet-resistant materials in place to properly protect employees.

“There are little things that have been added in the completion of this building, and that has made all the difference,” Krum-Tinsley says. “The Township took major consideration in working within the budgetary constraints of our residents while making sure the new facility allowed us to serve them better.”

While Swartz admits he’s still settling into his new office, he’s already seen improvements in how his Police Department serves the Township.

“You don’t realize how all the minor details add up until you no longer have to work around them,” he says. “We’re incredibly grateful to be serving the residents of Spring Garden Township, and we know we can do that better today.”

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