Jul 17, 2023 2 min read

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The Mt. Pleasant Police Department has significantly expanded its footprint after moving into a new building last month.

The agency’s move to 108 Main St. was long overdue, according to Chief Matthew Tharp. At 31 McCarrell Road, police officers worked out of a single room.

“There wasn’t a holding cell or a safe way to hold people in custody. With evidence collection, we were kind of bursting at the seams,” Tharp said.

The new location was the previous home of the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department, which still owns the facility. The department works out of a new building next door at 106 Main St.

According to minutes from supervisors meetings, the township entered a lease with the fire department and will pay $16,000 per year for 10 years. After five years, rent will increase by 7%.

The township paid about $150,000 to have the space renovated. Supervisor Shane Maga said Act 13 funds covered most of the cost.

“We were looking to be financially responsible. Building a new building would have been significantly more expensive,” Tharp said.

Tharp said the department was moved in to the new space by June 22. Mt. Pleasant employs seven full-time officers, including Tharp. The department now has two holding cells, a garage, locker room, break room and an office for the chief.

“It’s a significant difference,” Tharp said.

Though moved in, the department is not completely done with renovations. Tharp said they are redoing the floors in the garage, and are still waiting for signage to designate the building as the police department.

Once all of that is in place, Tharp hopes to hold an open house to invite the public to tour the facility. He said he is planning to host the event by mid-August.

Maga said the limited space in the old building presented multiple issues that have been rectified with the move.

“They were using our township meeting room as a locker room to change out of their police uniforms. They just didn’t have the space,” Maga said. “We need to provide our officers an adequate space so they can operate and do their jobs effectively.”