The Habersham County Sheriff's Office is busy this week starting up a precinct in the southern part of the county, about three miles north of Hall County.

The new operation will run out of a 1,250-square-foot office at Anderson Village, a shopping area off Ga. 365 in Alto.

Melvin Anderson, Anderson Village developer, offered the space at no charge.

"He fixed up the building for us, and put in a bathroom and heating and air," Sheriff Joey Terrell said Tuesday.

"It's the former part of a flooring business. They had floor finishing supplies in there, so they had sectioned it off from the rest of their business."

Anderson couldn't be reached for comment.

Overall, the new precinct "is going to get our officers out into the ... south zone of the county," Terrell said. "... We'll be more available for calls and it will cut down on response time.

"... If you're coming from (the county seat in) Clarkesville, you're looking at 15 or 20 minutes, depending on the time of day, to get down there to answer a call."

The new location also may help with traffic control in the area, as Ga. 365 is a main thoroughfare for tourists visiting the North Georgia mountains.

"That's not our main goal, but hopefully that'll be a side effect of it," Terrell said. "Just keeping a higher visibility and keeping our officers in that area more is what we're trying to do."

The precinct won't be open 24/7, the sheriff said.

Deputies "will be in and out as needed," he said. "Our day shift will report there. ... The only time they'll only be coming (to Clarkesville) is if they have to bring somebody to jail."

Troopers from Georgia State Patrol's Toccoa post will be able to use the precinct as well.

The sheriff's office also is looking at moving its K-9 operation there, Terrell said.

"So, hopefully, there will be several units in and out to give a better visibility of officers in the (area)," he added.