Chief Bogan has proposal for Newark Interpretive Center

Newark Police Chief Richard Bogan has proposed that the soon-to-be-completed Erie Canal Interpretive Center be used as a satellite public safety building during the summer.

The proposal was approved at the March 20 village board meeting, after Bogan cited a lack of plans for the building. Its intended use was to serve as a tourism 'pit stop' for boaters visiting Newark via the Erie Canal. The village had approached the Newark Chamber of Commerce to staff the building, but a lack of funding for staff prevented the Chamber from playing a more pivotal role in the center.

No other group has offered to staff the two-story center that will house showers, restrooms, and a dumping station. Bogan saw this as an opportunity to house a second police precinct.

'We have a very nice building that's being constructed there, but it doesn't seem like anyone's stepping up to the plate,' Bogan said at Tuesday night's meeting. Under the plan, the building will be manned from Memorial Day until Labor Day, from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. each day by police and Newark-Arcadia Volunteer Ambulance members. Additional phone lines to the building will allow police and ambulance calls to be answered at the satellite center.

Bogan said that already scheduled officers, student interns and the force's volunteer patrol will work at the center, so additional funding won't be necessary.

Beside Bogan's concern that the building shouldn't remain unoccupied, he also noted the importance of being able to provide safety and an extra eye on the area.

'Some of the foot paths are off the beaten track, which appeals to cyclists and joggers, because it's away from the urban atmosphere of Newark. But that also makes it that much more of a safety concern,' Bogan said. 'I'd think that anyone who was uncomfortable about frequenting the area would want to do so with the satellite center there because of an increase in safety.'

Bogan said there are mounted cameras that patrol the area, but that they aren't able to watch over the foot path. He hopes the patrol will be able to keep a watchful eye where the cameras can't.

'It just seems practical to turn the building into a satellite patrolling station,' Bogan said. 'We'll be able to operate with emergency medical personnel and it'd really be a shame if this weren't open to the public.'

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