By Will Barfield
Will Barfield is a journalism student at Kennesaw State University, making his Cobb County Courier debut with this article. Born in Canton, Georgia, he aspires to be a future journalist covering both local news and sports.
Kennesaw City Council approved the final plan for a new $13.9 million police headquarters that will consolidate the city’s law enforcement operations under one roof by 2026, officials said.
The final plat application, submitted by Patterson & Dewar Engineers, subdivides a 9.52-acre plot of land into two parcels for the construction of a new public safety building at 3080 Moon Station Road in Kennesaw. Construction is expected to be completed around the fall of 2026, said Kennesaw Police Chief Bill Westenberger.
“We’re just excited; it’s long overdue,” said Westenberger. “It’s going to give us a little over 40% more space to work out of, so it pulls everybody under one roof and gives us some opportunity for expansion.”
The city’s current police headquarters is split between two buildings: City Hall and a nearby annex. The new 25,000-square-foot facility will centralize staff and provide more space for day-to-day operations.
“It gives the city the ability to increase, as time goes on, the number of staff working,” Westenberger said. “Sometimes that’s officers, sometimes that’s other staff that frees up officers to do more. No matter how you look at it, being able to keep officers’ attention on the things that they need to be working on is a good thing.”
Darryl Simmons, the city’s Planning and Zoning Administrator, offered his thoughts on the project as he handed the plat application to Mayor Derek Easterling. “It’s a great project,” Simmons said. “It’s been a lot of collaboration with the city manager, city council, the mayor, police, and everyone else. We had to do it.”
The final construction cost of the headquarters was reported earlier this year to be no more than $13.9 million. When asked about the figure, which was not discussed at the meeting, Simmons said the number “is about right.”
Many attendees at the meeting echoed the same excitement for the project as Simmons and Westenberger, including Donovan Giardina, a candidate for City Council Post 3. Giardina said the city of Kennesaw has “18 months’ worth” of money in its rainy-day fund, which is set aside for emergencies or natural disasters.
“I want to see some of that extra money invested into the community, so if this is something our current council has deemed a worthy expenditure, I am all for it,” said Giardina.
Police Chief Bill Westenberger, who presented information about rising crime in August during the meeting, said this was a much-needed move that would not only keep the community safer but improve working conditions for his staff.
After the City Council approved the final plat application Monday evening, the applicants will move to Cobb County Superior Court to have it officially recorded.