Benton officially opens new police station

Monday was the first day of spring, and the city of Benton couldn't have picked a finer day to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its brand new police station at 503 W. Washington St., the former site of the decades-old log structure called the Scout Cabin.
With sunny skies overhead and the temperature already nudging into the low 70s by the 10 a.m. dedication time, there were smiles all around as city fathers and police officers gathered to show off their new, much-needed, state-of-the-art police headquarters.
The time had come, according to Benton Police Chief Kyle Melvin.
"We've now got 3,600 square feet and 14 rooms in our new building, double what we had before," Melvin said. "We were also always concerned with safety issues. We had to worry about old wiring, with water leaks and with all the technology used in police work today, having the additional space is a huge advantage for us. Working out of 1,800 square feet was just not enough room for a department of our size."
Melvin said another big plus in the new station is that police now have two interview rooms with audio-visual capability, whereas before there was just one.
Counting the chief, Benton currently has 10 full-time police officers, one administrative assistant and one part-time officer.
Minutes before cutting the red ribbon to officially dedicate the new building, Melvin told the crowd: "This is a very, very proud day for the Benton Police Department, not only for us, but the city of Benton. This is a great way to show the progress the city is making, as far as getting us out of an old, cramped building into a brand new one, that gives us not only the space, but a sound building and one that will allow us to do advanced things, better patrols, better investigations, all the way up through our cyber crime unit. We're very so very appreciative of the city council as well as the community for supporting  us through this entire thing. For me and the department as a whole, thank you very much!"
Benton Mayor Fred Kondritz echoed Melvin's comments.
"This is an historic day for the city of Benton," Kondritz said. "We dreamed this up, and as I always tell people, when you become mayor, you become a dreamer and this is one of our dreams here. What we've done is put the Police Department on a very historic site. This used to be the log cabin. It had meaning to the community, and so does this new building. Also, we were able to build this with 90 percent city employees and Benton businesses. Thanks to Chief Melvin and the whole department."