$15 million financing approved for northeastern El Paso County Sheriff’s Office substation
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - Tuesday, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners approved $15 million to fund a new substation in northeastern El Paso County. It will be built in Falcon off of Royal County Down Rd.
El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal says securing the funding and building the substation, has been a years-long process. Most recently, the Sheriff says they've hit some "roadblocks" in finding ways to finance the building while keeping up with rising construction costs.
The $15 million price tag will be paid for by "going out on bond," according to Sheriff Roybal. In essence, this allows El Paso County to purchase a building in the desired area in the near future, instead of years down the line.
Roybal said the county will get lower interest rates on financing the purchase of the building because of their "AA" rating.
Roybal says the need for a substation is multi-faceted. His deputies are out of service for over an hour when they make an arrest in rural parts of northeastern El Paso County. This is because they must travel south to the El Paso County Jail to book the inmate or take them to the Sheriff's office in downtown Colorado Springs to question them.
"That is time my deputy is out of service, not able to provide service to the community, not to take into consideration the time inside the jail, which could be another 30 minutes to an hour," Roybal said.
The new substation also allows deputies to book arrestees there, with two operational holding cells, similar to the intake area of the El Paso County Jail. Once that booking process is completed, those deputies will be able to quickly resume their patrol duties.
The second major need for a substation is the amount of growth across parts of east and northeast El Paso County. Over the last ten years, Sheriff Roybal says around 40,000 people have moved to areas like Falcon and Black Forest, creating more of a need for a law enforcement presence in these areas.
"It's expected to grow. There has been an approval for additional housing development in regional El Paso County, so the need is now," Sheriff Roybal said.
The Sheriff plans to move 50% of his patrol staff to operate out of this substation, which is meant to be built and operational by the summer of 2025. Roybal assured KRDO13 Investigates that other parts of El Paso County are not losing out on law enforcement assistance after this move is made.
"We have several districts that we cover from north, east, to west and south. So downtown Colorado Springs has served us for now. But the growth has outpaced our capabilities to travel," Sheriff Roybal said.
In addition to the travel distance, the El Paso County Sheriff's office says the amount of calls for service in Districts 2 and 4, encompassing predominately Black Forest and Falcon, has boomed in recent years.
The graphic above demonstrates the increased need for a consistent law enforcement presence in multiple parts of unincorporated El Paso County.
"They're already there ready to accept calls, whether it's eastern El Paso County, Black Forest, northern El Paso County, or assisting up in Monument. They're right there in district, ready to serve," Roybal said.
