Rexburg officials present $16.75 million bond plan and site choice for new police station; residents raise traffic and property-value concerns

City of Rexburg finance and public-safety officials on Oct. 15 outlined plans for a proposed bond that would finance a new police station, saying the city would ask voters this fall for roughly $16.75 million to help pay for a project the city estimates at about $19.6 million.

The proposal includes a 1.5–acre site off Pioneer Road. City Chief Finance Officer Matt Nielsen said the city has saved “about close not quite $3,000,000” toward the project and that the bond would supply the bulk of remaining funds. City officials said they bought the Pioneer Road property in advance for $1.3 million; the seller retains a right to repurchase the land if the bond fails.

Why it matters: City officials and their consultants told residents the current downtown police facility is a retrofit that lacks modern, code-compliant space, room for growth and the structural and electrical resiliency required of an "essential facility" under the International Building Code. Officials said a purpose-built facility would allow the department to meet future staffing and evidence/processing needs, house training and community spaces, and include room for future expansion.

Design, cost and site selection Architects and contractors who worked on a year-long steering committee described the planning process, from space programming to a high-level site layout. Brian Fullman of Hommel Architects said the team translated department staffing and operational needs into a space program and “bubble diagrams” that group public, administrative, patrol, records and evidence spaces. Bill Aldahed, a partner with T&B Architects and consultant on justice facilities, said public-safety buildings include additional structural, electrical and communications redundancy that increases per-square-foot costs compared with typical office buildings.

Hiram Pitt of Headwaters Construction said early estimating used historical data and local subcontractor feedback to produce a conservative budget; full competitive subcontractor bidding would follow later in design.

Funding and timing Nielsen said total project cost estimates are about $19.6 million and the city will ask voters for a $16.75 million bond. He said the bulk of the roughly $2.9 million the city had saved came from the general fund over roughly four years. He said the city evaluated lease-purchase options but those would have yielded annual payments beyond local capacity.

Officials said impact fees — one-time development fees collected from new construction after a local study — are intended to pay for future build-out of shelled (unfinished) space as the city grows. Nielsen said the earliest property-tax impact from the bond would likely appear in 2027, because of the time needed to issue financing after an election.

Site selection and neighbors’ concerns The steering committee selected a site on Pioneer Road after reviewing multiple parcels across the city, citing size, access to major routes and cost. Residents living near Pioneer Road told officials they worried about noise, increased traffic, sirens near homes and property values. The mayor and police representatives said officers generally do not activate lights and sirens immediately when leaving a station and that, in many cases, officers respond from patrol locations. Officials also noted that other uses (for example, an apartment complex) could bring more daily traffic than the police facility, an argument they used to justify the site.

Public engagement, next steps City staff scheduled a public tour of the current police department for Oct. 28 and posted project materials on the city website. Officials said further design and competitive subcontractor bidding would follow voter approval; they also said some site elements that are not "essential" (storage, some garage/vehicle support) could be built in a less expensive secondary structure to save costs.

Public comments at the meeting ranged from full support of the department to repeated complaints about past police conduct from a longtime resident. Several homeowners asked for more specific studies on property-value impacts and noise; staff said no specific local studies had been completed for the Pioneer Road parcel.

What remains undecided: The city has not asked voters yet (materials indicate a bond measure will be on an upcoming ballot); no final construction contract has been awarded; final design, bid results and the precise tax impact per parcel will depend on the final finance plan and market bids.

For more information: city staff advised residents to consult the city’s police-station section at rexburg.org and attend the department tour on Oct. 28.