Location finally decided for Valdese's public safety facilities project, seven years later

It’s official: Valdese’s police and fire departments are getting a new building on Massel Avenue.

And the police department got a drone.

The new Valdese Town Council acted swiftly on Monday, choosing a path forward on a project that has been stalled by seven years of setbacks and indecisiveness.

Currently, the idea is to construct a two-story building on the sloped landscape of 200 Massel Ave.

“Our plans are not to interconnect them, so no elevator (is) needed,” said D. R. Reynolds Senior Project Developer Bob Rawson. “We’re looking at it being a completely distinct police (department), coming in on the north side, and … the fire (department) would go out onto Massel.”

D. R. Reynolds, a Montgomery County-based general contractor, spent the last several months comparing available properties for feasibility in the public safety facilities project.

After evaluations by architectural, structural, and site engineers, the D.R. Reynolds team found the properties on 215 Main St. and 121 Faet St. presented too many structural limitations and too much deterioration. Renovation and demolition would prove to be “cost prohibited,” meaning the cost would be so sky-high that the company does not recommend pursuing those options.

The next step came in the form of two motions. One to instruct Town Manager Todd Herms and staff to move forward with a site assessment, and another to sell the other two properties.

There is not yet a cost estimate for constructing a new building. Rawson said there should be an estimate in the second quarter of 2026. Once the council approves construction costs, the town can proceed with permitting in the third quarter.

STREET PAVING

Mayor Keith Huffman and councilwomen Shannon Radabaugh, Melinda Zimmerman, and Mayor Pro Tem Rexanna Lowman made good on their collective promise as election winners to revisit the town’s street paving project.

The council unanimously voted to tackle a portion of the needed paving and repairs totaling $297,606.

The affected streets are Berry Avenue, Bellview Avenue NE, Clyde Street NE, Bellview Avenue NE between Laurel Street NE and Walnut Avenue NE, Tarheel Avenue NE, Vinay Avenue NW, Hickory Avenue NW, Flora Lane NE (gravel portion), and Bass Street NW.

OTHER BUSINESS

• Police Marc Sharpe announced that the Valdese Police Department has implemented a drone program thanks to a generous public donation. Officers Tyler Watson and Matt Smith completed training and are licensed to operate a drone. Sharpe said the officers recently used the drone to quickly determine whether an injured accident victim had fled into the woods.
• The police department also renamed its officer of the year award to the “Chief Oscar Pascal Memorial Award,” after a late World War II veteran that served the Valdese Police Department for decades. Pascal was police chief from 1970 to 1986. The first officer of the year award in Pascal’s name was presented to officer Watson.