CLYDE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Clyde police officers are celebrating the grand opening of their brand-new police station with a community open house. They invited residents to tour the new facility and ask any questions they may have.

Clyde Police Chief, Robert Dalton, said the old station was in an office building downtown and shared that the space was small, and with the population in Clyde expanding, they desperately needed a new space.

“Our true population is close to 4,500. That number will grow substantially in the next few years. With that growth, obviously city services had to grow with that,” said Dalton.

He added the thing he loves most about his job is the community and with the new facility, they can better serve their community.

“This is going to sound cliche, but the people. I really wanted a job where I was serving people,” Dalton added.

Mayor of Clyde Rodger Brown said the new facility has been a long time coming.

“We’re expanding, we got new businesses coming in and with that, we felt like our police department needs to be able to take care of us the way that they can,” said Brown.

The station features a media room, office spaces, an evidence room, two holding rooms and more. Brown said with more amenities, officers can serve the town to the best of their abilities.

“Giving them the tools that they need to do the job to serve and protect the community, it only makes sense. So, I’m very proud that we’re able as city council, and the city of Clyde, to make this happen to the police department,” shared Brown.

Dalton said with a larger facility, they hope to hire more police officers to protect the community. He invites all residents to come and tour the facility when they can.