Timnath, a small town in northern Colorado, recently opened its first-ever police station to meet public safety needs after an unprecedented growth in residents spurred the need for a full-time police agency.
On December 8, the Timnath Police Department celebrated the grand opening of its 22,000-square-foot state-of-the-art police station — a project that was initially conceived in 2019.
The $13 million-dollar facility features holding cells, interview rooms and proper ventilation systems, as well as a kitchen, a gym, evidence collection and storage facilities, storage room for weapons and body cameras, and training rooms. For security, the building boasts bulletproof glass windows and surveillance cameras.
“It’s incredible, it’s fantastic,” Timnath Police Chief Terry Jones said. “It’s a building we can grow into.”
Previously, Timnath police officers were working part time from town offices with assistance from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, but an explosion in the town’s population and requests from the town’s residents led the police department to expand.
“Timnath has exploded in terms of growth,” Chief Jones said. “It is a growing community, and one of the demands of the community was they wanted a full-time police department and 24/7 coverage,” Jones said.
According to the town’s census data, there were just 600 people living in the town in 2010. Today — over a decade later — there are 7,000 residents living in the town.
“We are expecting 1,000 (new residents) a year for the next four years,” Timnath Mayor Mark Soukup said.
Soukup was proud of the achievement, and said that the new building was constructed without any financial aid.
“We paid it totally with our own funds. We did not use any borrowings and no debt,” Soukup said.
According to Jones, the new building will allow the department to grow its department and serve the community 24/7.
The department currently consists of 15 uniformed officers and two technicians, but plans to hire seven more officers early next year to fill the vacancies.
As the police force and community grow over the next few decades, Jones said the city may expand the building south to accommodate detectives, a crime lab and more evidence storage space.
“We’ve got a ways to go before we’re at capacity,” Jones said.
“This police department will help facilitate the professionalism that we expect out of our officers, but the highest bar is set by the community that we serve,” Jones said at the celebration. “We are proud to be here to help and serve you because this is what it’s all about.”
