Bexley residents can get a sneak peek of the city's new police station at 559 N. Cassingham Road from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday during a community open house.

The station isn't completely finished -- the furniture won't be delivered until Dec. 28-30 -- but it likely will be the only chance for law-abiding citizens to get a look inside.

Once the building becomes fully operational, Department of Homeland Security guidelines require the facility to be completely secure, negating the opportunity for tours at a later date, police Chief Larry Rinehart said. Residents won't be allowed past the front lobby after the building officially opens. Dec. 31 is the target date for full police operations.

In advance of the opening, Rinehart took ThisWeek Bexley on a tour last week of the new station, which he said is three times larger than the old station on Main Street.

Rinehart said the upgrades start in the lobby. There is a "safe room" near the entrance where crime victims can be sequestered.

Two service bays at the new building will make it easier for police officers to do their jobs, Rinehart said. The first bay will be used as a garage and gives police officers space to collect evidence from a vehicle involved in a crime. Officers use the city's service garage at the current station, disrupting the flow of work in the service department, Rinehart said.

The second service bay will be used to bring in suspects in a secure environment, Rinehart said. Officers currently unload suspects in plain view and escort them into the police station.

"There is risk someone will ambush the police before they come in," he said.

The new station includes three cells. The first cell has a shower that could come in handy if a suspect was apprehended using a chemical spray, Rinehart said.

A second cell was designed for intoxicated suspects. It has a lower bench for suspects to sit on to prevent falls and a larger drain by the toilet in case the room needs to be sprayed down.

"A lot of the amenities I credit to the architect," Rinehart said. "They included a lot of things you wouldn't think about in a traditional building."

Architectural firm Horne and King also designed police stations for Reynoldsburg and New Albany.

Bexley officers will have access to interview rooms for the first time. In the current station, officers have to clear someone's office to interview a suspect or a witness, Rinehart said.

Rinehart called the radio room the crown jewel of the new police facility. The switchboard console moves up and down to suit the height of the dispatcher.

The building is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified for increased energy efficiency and offers a more comfortable work environment, according to the police department.

Police officers are looking forward to new equipment in the control room, Rinehart said. Dispatchers will have panels enabling them to see all the systems in the building and monitor the security cameras outside the building, he said.

Dispatchers will know when someone comes through a door both inside and outside the building, Rinehart said.

The equipment in the old building was functional but antiquated, he said. Officers and dispatchers needed training on the new equipment.

The facility includes a conference room on the second floor where the department can host meetings with local, state and federal police forces, Rinehart said.

Initially, there was discussion of opening the room to the public, but the building will be off limits past the lobby for security reasons. The city would have needed to spend extra money to create a secure environment for residents to access the room, said Rinehart, who added it was decided to open the old police station for public use.

Also, for the first time, police officers will have an on-site workout room, Rinehart said. Because the building is secure, officers will be able to take off their gun belts -- without worry -- while working out. The on-site exercise facility means police officers don't have to join a fitness club.

"We are making it accessible and easy," Rinehart said.

Both locker rooms have a full-sized shower, he said.

He said officers are excited about the on-site firing range, eliminating the need to drive to New Albany for target practice.

Officers can be hit by bullet fragments at some shooting ranges, so the one at the new police station has increased safety measures, Rinehart said. The shooting range includes a mound of recycled rubber tires to help cut down ricochets.

The city broke ground for the new police station on Nov. 16, 2008. City council members approved paying for the police station by selling $7.4-million in bonds over 20 to 25 years. That amount covered the $5.4-million construction bid and other costs associated with the project, such as furniture or equipment purchases.

Mayor John Brennan said the anticipated cost of the project at this point is $7.1-million to $7.2-million. City leaders don't have a final amount because there are still a few bills left to pay, he said, adding the project should come in under budget.

Bexley Police Community Advisory Committee chairman Lee Nathans worked for 10 years to get the new station built, Rinehart said. Nathans said he was "pleased and elated" to see the building finished.

"It has been a long time since we started the planning of this back in 1998 when John Carruthers was the police chief," he said.

Nathans said the existing police building was not up to standards and the new facility should help retain and attract officers.

"It is really a first-class facility for first-class officers," Nathans said.

Brennan said Bexley police officers have been working for years in an undersized building that originally served as a fire station. He said it was time to get officers into a modern facility.

"We built something that will last for the next 50 years," Brennan said.