The Centre Police Department will soon relocate. During a recent meeting, the City Council voted to allow Chief Val Courtney and his officers to move their headquarters to the former Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce office on Main Street.

Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver made the request because he needs to make room for the Narcotics Unit. Narcotics officers are based in Leesburg, but they have been notified they will have to move from their current building.

The Centre Police Department and the Cherokee County E911 Dispatch Center are located in the basement of the Cherokee County Detention Center. The E911 Dispatch Center will not move.

Shaver said bringing the narcotics unit into the same building as the rest of the Sheriff's Office would give him better access to his narcotics officers when he needs them. And he thinks the move will be a good one for all concerned.

“They [Centre police officers] have less space than we have on top,” said Shaver. “And our space on top is crammed. It has no storage room, no place to maintain all of the files for the department. We have no interview room. The facility is not big enough. I know it is a complicated issue, but maybe we can start working on something.”

“Everyone that I have talked to is in favor of it, mainly because of the space that we have down there,” said Courtney.

“If we are all there at the same time, we can’t get into one room. We need more room to be more efficient.”

Centre Mayor Phil Powell said he checked into the situation. By moving from E911 headquarters, the city could save up to $17,000. However, there would be initial repair costs to upgrade the building for the Police Department.

Currently, Centre City Parks and Recreation Director Charles Glazner’s office is located in the former Chamber Building. But his office could be moved to the new softball complex, Powell said.

The council agreed to the move. Shaver and Centre police officers have not set a definite moving date at this time.

“I really appreciate this,” said Shaver. “I think it will help me a whole lot and it will help the chief as well.”