In Shafter, city leaders and invited officials gathered for the groundbreaking of a new police substation and library extension.
Just a short drive away in McFarland, city leaders are also marking a major milestone, breaking ground on a new police station and community center, both aimed at strengthening public safety.
“Public safety is a foundation of freedom of a free society, of a society that is able to live in peace,” said Senator Melissa Hurtado.
Over the past few years, State Senator Hurtado has helped secure $90 million in public safety funding for communities like Shafter and across her district, adding that the benefits are just starting to be seen.
Starting the day in Shafter, the city broke ground as it welcomed the newest addition, a police substation tied together with an expansion of the Shafter Library. It's located at Forrest Village Drive and Gossamer Grove Blvd.
Shafter Mayor Chad Givens says it’ll be more than just a library.
“We started a learning center because we recognize that there was a gap in what was happening in our community, and kern county has always had libraries, but we weren’t getting where we needed to be with that support,” said Mayor Givens.
From the secured $90 million, six million was allotted to Shafter and five million went to McFarland.
At 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the same happened here in McFarland, breaking ground on their new police station and community center at the corner of Mast and Taylor.
According to officials, this is a huge necessity for the city as the department does not have adequate resources to handle cases.
“We don’t have your typical interview rooms where we can bring victims in and there’s a sense of privacy,” said McFarland Police Chief Adrian Olmos. “Including supervisors and officers that are working on cases, there’s a lot going on around them and there’s no sense of privacy because we’re in a small confined space.”
Talks for the project started two years ago in McFarland, according to mayor Saul Ayon, the total cost for the facility is just under $10 million. With the addition of a community center being critical for the community according to Mayor Ayon.
“We want to bring senior services, a police activities league for our youth and also an emergency center when we have a natural disaster,” said Ayon.
Officials say Shafter’s building should be done by the Spring of 2026 and McFarland’s by February of 2027.
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