Montgomery County politicians joined police officials Monday afternoon to celebrate the unveiling of the county’s new Sixth District police station in Gaithersburg.
The $37.8 million station is one of the first public safety buildings in the state — and one of the few in the country — that are net-zero energy facilities, meaning they produce at least as much energy as they consume, according to local officials.
“You can be green, and you can provide for the needs that you need to meet in the county,” County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by about 50 officials at the new station at 222 Paramount Park Drive.
The station, which will serve Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village, replaces an older building, according to the county. The new building’s energy is produced through a nearby microgrid of solar panels. It also has on-site battery storage.
“It’s also a resilient facility, which means that if the grid goes down, the facility can operate for 168 hours on its own power,” Montgomery County Department of General Services Director David Dise said after the ceremony.
According to Dise, all upcoming facilities to be built by the Department of General Services will be net-zero, including an upcoming fire station in North Bethesda, a police station in the county’s Fourth District and a public library in Clarksburg.
The Gaithersburg station, headed by Sixth District Commander Brian Dillman, can accommodate up to 178 officers and other support staff. It has a community room for gatherings and public chargers for electric vehicles. It also has high-speed chargers for police vehicles; the county is in the process of transitioning its vehicles to be fully electric.
Assistant Chief of Police Darren Francke expressed his gratitude for the new station to the county government.
“It sends a message that they [Montgomery County law enforcement officers] are cared for,” Francke said. “It makes a difference in their daily lives.”
