Chief: Upgrades, renovation revitalizing Lake Park Police Dept.

Published 5:00 am Sunday, March 9, 2014

Lake Park Police Chief James Breletic has been on the job for less than a year, but he has overseen some major changes that he believes has made his department more efficient while saving taxpayers money.

“When I started, I wanted to assess what the actual needs of the department were, not the bells and whistles, but the actual needs,” said Breletic.

One of those needs, Breletic realized, was a more professional-looking and more functional office for his department.

“When you came down the hallway, you saw dark wood paneling and a cream-colored wall. It was dark and dreary,” said Breletic.

Through a combination of donated time and materials and discounted services, Breletic was able to give the Lake Park City Hall building and his police department office a makeover. The department now has a more secure evidence locker, and the dark wood paneling has been painted tan and green with white trim.

Lake Park Mayor Eric Schindler secured paint at a low cost, and the labor was provided by a prisoner who agreed to paint the walls to fulfill the community-service requirement of his sentence.

“He painted the whole room, the walls, outside in the foyer, by hand,” said Breletic. “He spent three weeks coming each day from the Lowndes County Jail.”

The renovations were done at a fraction of what it could have cost thanks to donations from businesses and citizens. Atlanta Office Liquidators donated $3,500 worth of cubicles for the office, and Breletic paid for the shipping in part by selling scrap metal collected from the city’s maintenance yard. The labor to put the cubicles together was donated by Cubicle Installation Services of Jacksonville, Fla.

“Because of the kindness of businesses and citizens, we now have a police station with new equipment,” said Breletic. “The mayor has donated computers, so each officer has their own computers. We’ve evolved.”

A new doorway, new bathrooms and a tile floor were constructed thanks to local business owners who donated their time and materials, and the City Council approved new carpeting to replace the previous flooring that had been laid in 1986. The carpeting was installed at no charge thanks to another local business.

Several members of the Lake Park Fire Department and maintenance department also donated their time to make the renovations a reality.

Breletic said the changes are important to his vision of a transformed department in which his officers can take pride and ownership. To fulfill that vision, officers have been given new, matching uniforms along with new badges that were redesigned by one of the officers.

Officers have also been given new, lightweight bulletproof vests as well as uniform firearms, .40-caliber Glocks. Before, each officer was carrying a different weapon, said Breletic.

The department also sports two new 2014 Dodge Chargers paid for with SPLOST funds. The vehicles are waiting to be equipped and receive a new paint job with a fresh color scheme and a new emblem. The vehicles were approved by the mayor and City Council in response to issues with the low gas mileage of the department’s other vehicles, including an SUV which Breletic said was getting only eight miles per gallon.

“I want to go green to save energy and taxpayer money,” said Breletic.

The windows of the police station have been tinted and the building’s thermostat has been replaced in an effort to reduce energy costs. Breletic is considering switching to LED lightbulbs to further reduce energy expenses.

“The cost-saving efforts and the new equipment are what they need to do their jobs,” said Breletic. “Now, when someone walks into the police station to report a crime, they get a very different impression about our city. It says the city cares.”