Highland Police Department moves into new $6.5 million public safety building 

The Highland Police Department is officially moved into its new public safety building after a complex process of transferring electronics with the help of the Edwardsville Police Department.

On Nov. 30, the department officially transferred radios and electronics from the old station to the newly constructed public safety building, with a team comprised of AT&T, GTSI, Highland technology workers and a complete work station from Edwardsville. The building had been finished for about a month and nonessential items had been moved over to it, but the transfer of electronic equipment was a more complex procedure.

For a short time on moving day, the Highland dispatcher worked in Edwardsville to ensure there was no break in service during the move.

Chief Carole Presson said she wished the late Chief Terry Bell could have been there to see his vision of a new, state-of-the-art facility become reality.

“As the new chief, I am blessed to be part of this moment in Highland history,” she said.

The move went smoothly, Presson said. “We are still unpacking and getting truly settled, but with the help of Edwardsville (Police), GTSI and our tech people it went off without a hitch,” she said.

The $6.5 million building was in planning stages since 2011, reimagined several times over the years to approximately half the size of the initial proposal — in part because space for paper records storage is no longer needed in the digital age. Construction and bids were approved in late 2020, and the building’s official open house for the public was Oct. 31.