The Waller Police Department and Municipal Court opened its new station located on Farr Street on April 14. The facility is more than double the size of the previous building, at nearly 4,000 square feet.

The previous building was essentially an open room with the municipal court located on one side and the police station on the other, according to Court Clerk Teresa Mata.

Now, the station and court have a building which contains a lobby, small court room, several offices for the court clerk, chief, CSI officer, detectives, sergeant, conference room and a holding room.

Pictured (from left to right), Waller ISD Safety and Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Underhill, Superintendent Danny Twardowski, Assistant Superintendent Troy Mooney, Police Chief Phil Rehak and TABC Agent Larry Whitbey hold a discussion in the conference room of the new facility.

The new facility also has better security and is more open, Mata explained.

“It’s very nice and much better,” she said.

The preexisting building is owned by a private business which chose to downsize. The company agreed to a five-year lease with the police department and municipal court, according to Chief Phil Rehak.

The move cost about $70,000. The police station and court began transferring into the building on March 2. Rehak said that by choosing a preexisting building the cost was minimal to the taxpayers and created no debt.

“This was the cheapest possible way to move our facility,” he said.

Rehak added the station had been looking for a new facility for some time and they were ready to move.

“We’re able to work in and out of the facility now and not just out of our cars,” he said.

The major benefits of the new facility include a holding room and conference room, Rehak explained.

Mata said the previous building did not have a holding room and officers were forced to drive arrestees to the county holding unit some distance away.

Rehak, who is also the emergency management coordinator, said the conference room could also serve as a missions operation center to assist in a city crisis such as an evacuation or in the event that Waller becomes part of an evacuation route.

“The conference room doubles as a missions operation center, which is huge for Waller,” he said.

He added that the new facility has a shower, so officers could live out of the station if the need were to arise.

With the larger facility Rehak said the station could possibly hire more officers and has already hired one full-time officer and three reserve officers.

For more information about Waller Police Department and Municipal Court, visit wallertexas.com.

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