The west side of Danbury continues to grow and that means there's greater need for emergency response. At the Danbury City Council meeting Tuesday night, members accepted a donation from The Summit for a police substation, valued at $161,000. The substation also comes with improvements to police radio coverage on the west side.
Chief Patrick Ridenhour says radio coverage has been spotty in areas of the west side, which can compromise officers and public safety. Councilman Fred Visconti called the radios a great addition and that for public safety to work the right way, Danbury needs a communication center.
The Summit is a commercial and residential development in the former Matrix building, with plans for 200 to 400 apartments. The police substation will be on the ground level, across from the lobby in the Summit building. There are also growing developments in nearby Abbey Woods and Rivington.
Ridenhour says the satellite office means officers won't have to come back to headquarters on Main Street to follow up on calls for service, get supplies, write reports, make calls, and other tasks.
The fire department has already upgraded its radio system. Motorola Solutions plans to install an ultra-high frequency, IP analog simulcast system with transmit and receive systems at WLAD, Danbury Hospital and Abbey Woods. Norcom CT will handle the antenna.
