ENID — Enid residents looked around, nodding their heads, at parts of Enid Police Department they will never see again at the open house for new construction held 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

Police Chief Brian O’Rourke said the open house is to give residents who support the police station an opportunity to see the newly renovated station.

One of the highlights of the tour is the physical education training area, located on the east side of the building where the garage once was situated, which was renovated with top-of-the-line Cybex equipment. Officer Jacob McKinley said the department’s program teaches employees how to exercise and use the equipment and gives hints on nutrition.

Capt. Dean Grassino said the workout area is voluntary, but so far about 60 percent of those who work in the building have signed up for the orientation to use the area.

McKinley said officers must complete a physical education certification when they are hired, and O’Rourke has installed a mandatory, annual physical fitness test.

“The better shape you are in, the less likely you are to be injured on duty or off,” McKinley said.

Also part of the renovation was replacing outdated furniture with new. O’Rourke said one officer was using a 1942-model metal desk.

“I’m glad to get the project over,” O’Rourke said. “We have one of the best police facilities in the state, I guarantee you.”

The new evidence room helps to maintain the security of the evidence brought in through a pass-through system of storage. Officers bring their evidence into the room and mark and identify it, including the use of a bar code. They place the evidence in a locker that only can be opened by the evidence manager, who can remove the evidence from another room on the other side of the locker stand. The manger can take the evidence from the locker and place it in the proper storage area. This process is intended to maintain the integrity of evidence.

Detectives have individual offices that afford privacy for interviews in the rear of the building, and one cell remains in an area that once was a cell block.

Officers also have a new muster room and a separate area for filing out reports. Other highlights are the classroom and class and conference areas for all divisions of the police department.

Officers and staff worked in the building amid construction work and debris for months before the project was finished. The traffic division was housed in a small trailer on the south side of the building until its area was completed.

The renovation began in 2009, following a year and half of planning. O’Rourke said the original plan was to renovate a single potion of the department, but when bids came in much lower than projected, other tasks were added.

“It turned out to be one of the best times to build because people needed the work. We were able to do a lot more with what money we had,” he said.

The original plan estimated $2.8 million for the project, which focused on a single area of the department. The bid selected was $1.47 million less than expected. Using the remaining money, O’Rourke added remodeling of restrooms for ADA compliance, renovation of the uniform services division, a renovation of the lobby, addition of the fitness and training area.

When the project was completed, it cost $38,000 less than originally believed and added another 14,000 square feet of usable space. The project took about a year and a half to complete.

Funding for the project came from the public safety sales tax, and it took four years before sufficient tax was collected for the project. O’Rourke said he wanted to give officers a professional place they can be proud of.