CITY MULLS NEW ACADEMY DESIGN, ENGINEERING CONTRACT CONSIDERED.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer LANCASTER - City officials are considering awarding a $700,000 contract to a Phoenix company for the design and engineering work on a proposed $100 million law enforcement academy. Suggested by Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Sheriff Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (b. May 27 1942, East Los Angeles, California) is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School (Los Angeles) in 1960, Baca worked his way through East Los Angeles College before starting with the L.A. , the academy is envisioned as serving law enforcement, prison and jail officers from around the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . When the academy could be built is uncertain. ``Like any large project, it's going to require a combination of federal, state, county and local funds,'' said Mark Bozigian, assistant to City Manager Jim Gilley. At its meeting Tuesday, the City Council will vote on a proposed contract with McClaren, Wilson and Lawrie Inc. for work on what is being called the Western Public Safety Training Center. The company specializes in law enforcement facilities throughout North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and its work includes such projects as a $60 million law enforcement complex in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. County and a $25 million law enforcement center in Garland, Texas. The design work is being funded through a $1.2 million grant the city received from the state Office of Criminal Justice Planning. The grant will finance design work and preliminary engineering and environmental study work. The city of Lancaster The City of Lancaster (2002 population: 133,914) is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. Its main town is Lancaster, from which it obtained its city status. Other towns in the district include Morecambe, Heysham, Slyne, and Carnforth. and the Sheriff's Department envision the academy being built on 300 acres in the Fox Field Corridor, the region between the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. and the Fox Field airport. The facility would be both an academy for recruits and a college for those already in law enforcement to get additional training and even earn college degrees in criminal justice. Concepts for the academy include an emergency vehicle operations training track, a ``laser village'' for training in making decisions on when to shoot or not shoot, weapons ranges and training center, physical training areas, and classrooms and dormitories. In addition to providing basic academy and recruit training and ongoing officer training, the academy could serve specialized training needs in such areas as disaster response, anti-terrorism and biochemical response, proponents say. Sheriff's Department officials envision the academy having ties with state universities, allowing officers to receive college credit and degrees. |
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