Lakeville details progress, delays on First Center and plans for new fire station on 12‑acre Fisher site

City staff provided the Lakeville City Council a progress update on two major public safety projects at the June 23 work session: the First Center, a multi‑agency training and operations site that is recruiting municipal members, and a proposed new fire station that staff plan to locate on the 12‑acre Fisher property in northeast Grand B.

The presentation said staff finalized membership flyers in May and sent them in early June; three cities — Apple Valley, Farmington and Northfield — had responded with interest. Staff described two membership tiers and an a la carte option for cities or individual departments that do not join as full members. Farmington expressed tentative interest in prepaying a 10‑year membership using state public‑safety funding it has available, the presentation said.

Why it matters: city staff said membership revenue and any prepaid commitments would affect cash flow and the First Center’s operating model. The council previously directed staff to pursue the Fisher property for the fire station; locating and funding both the First Center and the fire station will affect capital and staffing decisions across departments.

Staff summarized construction and schedule status for the First Center. Construction began in May and included a stormwater basin reaching Cedar Avenue and demolition of an older public works building. During demolition crews discovered seven buried fuel tanks (one had a small leak of about five gallons of diesel that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency subsequently addressed)…