Tyendinaga Mohawk Police Chief Ron Maracle is not concerned that the new police headquarters is facing any immediate threat from vandalism or a potential arsonist.
The chief is, however, playing it safe until him and his crew move into the prefabricated structure in the coming weeks.
"I don't have a concern about that," he said. "The community seems fairly receptive. However we are taking precautions by having security on the building until we move in."
Maracle said his officers are continuously monitoring the York Road site for any irregular activity. A security firm as also been hired to provide watch during the night-time when the building is most vulnerable to criminal activity, he added.
Maracle said NRB — the Grimsby, Ontario company contracted to build and install the structure — completed the first phase of the four to six week assembling process on Thursday without any demonstration from Mohawk protesters who have long opposed its installation. By Friday a team of roofers were at the site sealing the roof of the building.
Maracle's team of nine officers and one civilian staff will start their move when that process is complete.
"There is a little bit of water damage in there but no structural damage that I can see," he said. There's a few things that need to be fixed and replaced in there but I'm pretty confident that it will be just fine by the time we move in."
Maracle has openly expressed concern over the condition of the current station, which he says is mould-infested and poses a health risk to his officers. There are plans to condemn the building when it is vacated. The approximately 4,500 sq. ft. Facility is about "three times the size" of the current station, he said.
Over the last two years, attempts to bring the controversial building from Grimsby to the reserve have sparked protest from some residents, who blocked access to the property by mounting roadblocks and staking out the site.
During that two-year timeframe, which began in the fall of 2008, the protesters remained adamant that the reserve was plagued by a litany of other problems that needed to be addressed before the new station would be permitted on the reserve.
Many of the protesters concerns, such as the need for a chlorination system at the Quinte Mohawk School, have since been rectified.
The two previous failed attempts to deliver the $1.4-million modular structure cost the band council about $584,000.
Chief for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Donald Maracle, was successful in obtaining a court-ordered injunction on Tuesday, which barred the stations opposers from interfering with, blocking or causing any delay in the delivery and installation of the prefabricated building.