The new Nixa Police Department headquarters will include more space for training as well as locker rooms and offices for staff. For example, the current facility contains a multi-purpose room used as a community room, classroom, training room and physical fitness area. In the new headquarters, those will be four separate spaces.
Police Chief Joe Campbell predicts that the amenities will improve the experience of officers at the department already but will also attract new hires.
"We’ve had officers work in, literally, closets over the years," Campbell said. "So, that particular individual, he’s going to be happy."
Campbell also said that once the department is ready for move-in, the process will be relatively streamlined. Building on a new site means that all that has to be hauled over is the furniture and the (mountains of) evidence.
The old headquarters will continue to be owned by the City of Nixa after the move. No plans for the building have been publicly announced.
The project is set to cost $15.2 million dollars, funded by a ¾-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2023. In addition to the long-awaited new building, those funds will go to hiring more officers. Construction is projected to wrap up in December 2026.