By Staff
Melissa Cason
Franklin County Times
RED BAY – The Red Bay Police Department is getting ready to christen their new facility in a manner that would rival Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock."
The city's dispatchers moved into the new building Monday. The rest of the officers followed Wednesday.
"We wanted to get up and running over here first and bring our stuff in a little at a time instead of having it piled up over here," Red Bay Police Chief Pat Creel said.
The next step, Creel said, is transporting prisoners from the county lockup to their new facility.
"We are expecting to have mattress pads in for the cells early next week," he said. "When we get the cells ready to go, we'll have transported back to us."
The new facility sits on the old city hall site across from the Senior Citizens' Center. The new building has four cells, a spacious booking area and a training room, in addition to the administrative offices for department leaders.
"This is a nice facility," Creel said. "There may be a better police station in Alabama, but I haven't seen it."
The new facility is furnished with items donated by the Tennessee Valley Authority from their Brown's Ferry site.
The Red Bay Police Department has been housed at the Franklin County Sheriff's Department sub-station since their department was destroyed by fire in May 2006.
"I can't say enough about the Sheriff's Department for helping us in our time of need," Creel said. "We will always appreciate Sheriff Plott for leading us a hand when we needed it."
An open house is planned at Dec. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. to christen both the new police department and the new city hall.