SHERIFF'S STATION VOTE SET TODAY NEW FACILITY WOULD BE A BOOST TO FORCE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - A construction contract to build the long-awaited Palmdale sheriff's station will come before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for approval today.

The supervisors are scheduled to vote on a $16 million contract award to Bernards Bros. Inc. of San Fernando for the construction of a 47,000- square-foot sheriff's station. If approved, work is scheduled to begin in early May and be completed next July.

The station will be a big boost both to crime-fighting efforts and to the morale of deputies who have had to work under crowded conditions, said Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford.

``I can't wait to see dirt fly,'' Ledford said. ``This is going to mean more deputies on the street and for longer periods of time because they won't have to go to Lancaster to book.''

The sheriff's station will provide relief for the overcrowded interim station, established in 1992 in a remodeled shopping center. Prior to 1992, deputies patrolling Palmdale worked out of the Lancaster station.

The new station will include a 7,800-square-foot jail, an 8,300-square-foot vehicle maintenance building, a helistop and staff and visitor parking spaces.

To facilitate the construction, the city of Palmdale is providing the 11-acre site at Sierra Highway and Avenue Q for the project. The city also agreed to perform $1 million of off-site improvements.

Off-site improvements for the project include providing wider streets and right-turn pockets on Avenue Q and Sierra Highway; relocating streetlights; and modifying an existing traffic-signal system.

The project's cost is $3.8 million more than the estimates presented to the Board of Supervisors in December. The increased costs will be met through a combination of cobbling together existing county funds and the issuance of $1.5 million in tax-exempt bonds that will be repaid from the Sheriff's Department's operating budget.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com