Rome Police Department preps to move to Technology Parkway
The Rome Police Department is in final preparations before they move their headquarters to a new location on Technology Parkway and Vail Street adjacent to Eagle Christian Tours.
“Our official address will be 375 Technology Parkway on Tuesday,” RPD Community Information Specialist Kelly Madden said.
The city had been looking for a new headquarters for the Rome Police Department following the 10-year sales tax agreement between the city, county and city of Cave Spring finalized in 2022.
One of the results of that agreement was that both the Rome and Floyd County police would vacate the
law enforcement center downtown at 5 Government Plaza. The move has been planned for months since the city purchased the Technology Parkway property and office building for $2 million in November.
“The most important thing for us is that there are no gaps in service,” Assistant Police Chief Rodney Bailey said. “And we owe a lot to Rome’s Office of Technology Services; they’ve been very focused.”
The logistics of moving around 100 law enforcement officers and other staff is a significant undertaking, especially considering RPD has been in the same location for almost 25 years.
“We’re also fortunate that most on-duty officers work in their vehicles,” Bailey said. “They need their technology to work, and where to drop off their reports and vehicle at the end of their shift.”
Bailey said they have kept on schedule, and have been updating staff on the status of the move regularly.
Not everything is immediately moving to the new location. The evidence room and the mechanics who work on police vehicles are remaining downtown for the time being.
“We’re actually losing about 6,000 square feet in the new location,” Bailey said. “So the evidence room stays put until we find a new solution. Same with our mechanics.”
Rome is also moving its Magistrate Court to the new location, a considerable undertaking as they need to bring 25 years of court records.
“We’re lucky that next week is spring break, and our judges will be away,” Madden said. “So we have an extra week to ensure the courtroom is functional and our judges can work.”
But much of the move, and what’s become an increasingly intrinsic part of law enforcement, is technology.
“Body cameras, radios, emergency calls — technology — that’s been the heaviest ball to move, the biggest piece,” Bailey said. “And the (technology) department has been fantastic.”
Bailey also commented that although they enjoyed being near their colleagues at the Floyd County Police Department, the move will not change their relationships.
“We’ll continue to have great relationships with FCPD,” Bailey said. “After all, so much of our contacts are via cell and email, nothing should change.”
This move has been billed as temporary, as the City of Rome is slated to receive $20 million in funding for a permanent home for the RPD as part of the 2023 special
purpose local option sales tax package.
“Our ultimate goal is to have the RPD headquarters downtown,” City Manager Sammy Rich said in November when the property was purchased on Technology Parkway.
The plan is a temporary move for three to five years. The RPD will move as quickly as possible to identify a
permanent site and build a new facility with the $20 million in SPLOST funds.
As part of the sales tax negotiations, the Floyd County Police Department is moving to the former Glenwood Primary School in Armuchee this spring.
“We’re definitely going to miss being downtown,” Madden said. “But we’ll hopefully be back in a few years.”