Willoughby Police Chief James Schultz said that progress continues on the new police facility. Related Articles Lake Metroparks plans three kid-friendly events for Presidents Day North Perry Village to seek bids for this year’s paving program ESCWR summit serves to strengthen literacy Planning underway for new festival in Fairport Harbor I-271 Chardon Road bridge project to begin this spring in Willoughby Hills Located at 37733 Euclid Ave., the former Meister Media Worldwide building, drywall is fully installed and painted on the ground floor, with major drywall work also completed on the first and main floor. “The top floor rooms are built and much of the drywall is being installed there as well,” Schultz said. “Work on the jail area will begin soon as crews are waiting for an underground project to be completed.” Temporary boards are currently in place where front-facing windows were removed in the records division and those new windows should be installed soon, Schultz said. Cabinet installation also recently began. “Overall, the interior work is progressing well and the construction team is doing excellent work,” he said. “Additionally, the department is seeking candidates interested in joining the department. Testing will be available online through the National Testing Network from Feb. 2 to March 2.” Progress continues at the Willoughby Police Department facility project at the former Meister Media Worldwide building. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Progress continues at the Willoughby Police Department facility project at the former Meister Media Worldwide building. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Progress continues at the Willoughby Police Department facility project at the former Meister Media Worldwide building. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Show Caption1 of 3Progress continues at the Willoughby Police Department facility project at the former Meister Media Worldwide building. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Expand Since the project started, the building has been taking shape inside and out to become the new police department facility. Infinity Construction, the general contractor, has been keeping it on schedule, making sure the construction process is of utmost quality, as well as communicating any issues at hand, Schultz said. “It’s been incredibly fun to watch the process unfold and I’m truly blessed, and grateful for our community’s support for this,” he said. Schultz said Mayor Robert Fiala and the Willoughby City Council have shown support toward all of the programs being built into this project including the firearms training center. Five years ago, the police department instituted a continual departmental training program for different day-to-day skills for members to include increased firearms training. “We have to give our officers the skills, tools and confidence to make the absolute best decisions when those absolute worst situations happen,” Schultz said. “One mistake is unacceptable. This training center will help provide so many more opportunities for us to train our firearms skills, use of force scenarios and de-escalation.” With the police department’s current facility’s capabilities, they’ve been open to sharing with local partners, Schultz said. “Many of our neighboring agencies and beyond come to our current facility to train,” he said. “We will continue to be a regional partner and leader when it comes to training at our new facility. We’re always thinking outside the box when it comes to new ideas and partnerships, and we hope we can develop some new partnerships with the construction of our new firearms training center.” ...read more read less