fter nearly a half-century of public service, the LAPD's Foothill Station in Pacoima is starting to show its age.
Its lobby seats are stained or peeling and those behind the front desk are mismatched or too short for the officers to use. The walls are a shade of green that's reminiscent of a hospital corridor or, as some officers lament, the color of sheriff's deputies' uniforms.
But all that is about to change. Faced with a city budget crisis that makes the chance of improvements all but impossible, about a dozen volunteers are rolling up their sleeves and renovating the station themselves.
"It's really a labor of love," said Capt. Joseph Hiltner, commanding officer of Foothill Division. "We really have a community that appreciates their police department and folks that are donating recognize the fact that under fiscal constraints, we couldn't do it without their help.
"And the officers appreciate it, too," Hiltner said.
After soliciting donations of paint and labor from local businesses, volunteers gave most of the station's walls a fresh coat of white and "LAPD blue."
Some officers, while off-duty, helped knock down a wall in the watch commander's office to open up the space.
Power tools and fasteners cluttered the desk of Senior Lead Officer Michelle
Rodriguez, who for the last several weeks, has used her spare time to lay and glue donated dark blue tile over the scuffed rose-hued flooring.
"Everybody feels good," she said. "And everyone's real happy about it."
The major work on the station is expected to wrap up this week, but the volunteers are already planning additional improvements, said Vicki Burch, co-chair of Foothill's Community Police Advisory Board.
"A nice place to work makes your workforce more productive," said Burch, who would like to see new furniture in the station and the new landscaping outside - in time to celebrate the station's 50th anniversary later this year.
"I want this area to look good, be good, and be a productive area. I don't want to live in Slumville, USA."
Burch, who volunteers for other organizations in the Sun Valley community, has led the effort to solicit donations of goods and services to help spruce up the station.
About 20 businesses have donated construction workers and electricians and items such as desks, a granite countertop and flat-screen monitors to display the day's agenda.
"It's interesting to see how you can get people to do things they never would have thought of doing, or never saw that there was a need for," Burch said.
"I really don't have to lean on them too hard. A little bit of tears do it," she joked.
Regardless of how much work remains to be done, officers are already appreciative of their tidier and brighter digs.
"It's an older station, so any kind of work looks great," said Officer Rodolfo Rocha, who was working in the newly renovated report-writing room, where a new flat-screen was waiting to be wired. "New paint just makes it feel a little different."
The effort the volunteers and donors have put in has been heartwarming, Rodriguez said.
"It's overwhelming," she said. "It restores your faith in people. We deal with a lot of negative things, but I also know there's a lot of really good people out there that are willing to step up and follow through."
Bell and Wood attended a movie premiere together in Dec. 2005. (Evan Agostini/Getty)
