West Plains Police will soon set up a new substation on the Missouri State University-West Plains campus.

At Wednesday’s executive committee meeting of the Missouri State University Board of Governors, members approved a cooperative agreement with the City of West Plains. The agreement allows the police department to establish a substation in Drago Hall, the former Drago College Store on West Main Street.

“The police substation in Drago Hall is a positive arrangement for the city and our campus,” Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Shirley Lawler said.

“They are pleased to be able to provide a downtown location for police officers to conduct business, and we are looking forward to adding another level of safety and security to our campus,” she added.

Terms of the agreement

Under terms of the agreement, the university will provide, at no charge, office space, furniture, phone service and internet access for the substation in Drago Hall.

The single room office will have its own private, secure entrance, according to the agreement.

There will be no standard hours of operation for the substation; however, on-duty officers will be able to stop in at any time, thus providing a regular police presence on campus.

Both university and police department officials have said that in the future, the substation could be manned full time.

In addition, under terms of the agreement, on-duty officers can receive complimentary meals from The Sole Café at the Grizzly Lofts or at the Putnam Student Center dining hall.

“Missouri State-West Plains has had a great relationship with the police department for some time, and this agreement will only enhance it for the benefit of the campus community and downtown residents and businesses,” Lawler said.

West Plains Police Chief Stephen Monticelli said he is excited to partner with the university community in creating the substation, which will provide better services to the campus and downtown area.

“This is the police department’s first approach to the geographic policing model form of community policing that will eventually involve the entire city,” he said.

The substation could open as early as May, if renovations to the facility go according to plan, officials have said.