CANFIELD — A construction project within the Canfield Police Department building is nearing the halfway point.

Demolition began earlier in the spring for the expansion and renovation of the dispatch center, Canfield police Chief Chuck Colucci said.

The project is anticipated to be finished in August.

“We’re looking forward for this to be completed,” Colucci said.

In the last decade, this is the second expansion project the building has seen.

Earlier this year, council awarded Murphy Contracting Co. of Youngstown the contract for $220,000.

In the previous layout of the police department, the public walked to the right of the clerk window and see two dispatch consoles behind large glass windows.

Now, the dispatch center will house four consoles.

Dispatchers and clerks will be the most impacted by the moderization and expansion, Colucci said.

Part of the reason for the expansion is to accommodate department growth.

When Colucci began with the Canfield Police Department in 1996, it had 10 officers. Now, it has 22.

The construction also will fix insulation.

When the building was expanded in the past, the ceiling wasn’t properly finished, costing the department additional money as heat was lost through the ceiling in the winter months, Colucci said.

Now, “there will be a heat barrier, which will save us a lot of money,” Colucci said.

Temporarily, dispatch is set up in a conference room, away from the public.

“Our temporary facility is nice, but it will be super nice to be back out there,” Jenny Wright, a dispatch employee, said.

While she talks on the phone to help people and sees colleagues regularly, she said something has been missing.

“I miss seeing the public,” she said. “I miss that one-on-one time. It’s not as personable,” Wright said.

The new dispatch area still will allow for face-to-face communication when the public comes in to the building, Colucci said.

“That was really important to us because we know it’s important to the community. It’s not just a phone; it’s a person,” Colucci said.

afox@vindy.com