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Council hears concept for $8 million prefab public-safety facility with expanded EOC and parking
Summary
Staff presented a concept for a 5,700-sq-ft prefab public-safety facility at Pops Road estimated at $8 million that would add an 800-sq-ft dedicated Emergency Operations Center, emergency generator and up to 47 parking spaces; staff said the city hopes to fund most of it with grants and would pursue federal appropriations and other partners.
City staff presented a conceptual prefabricated public-safety facility proposed for a Pops Road site that would consolidate the community center, fitness center, senior center and public safety into a Civic Center footprint. Larry Stine (S12) described the concept as a roughly 5,700-square-foot building (about 2,000 square feet larger than the city’s current leased public-safety space) featuring an 800-square-foot dedicated Emergency Operations Center (EOC), an emergency generator, roof-mounted radio communications, reinforced IT/server room and an armory, plus a site layout that would yield roughly 47 dedicated public-safety parking spaces (37 secured).
On costs, staff presented a conceptual estimate of $8,000,000 that staff said includes grading and site work; engineering estimates were described as preliminary and were provided by engineers on a pro bono basis. "Those are rough numbers and estimates that we've had, but we've had their engineers come out on a pro bono basis to kinda give us some some good numbers, and they felt really confident in what they provided us," Larry said. Staff emphasized the objective of securing grants and federal appropriations—council discussed pursuing a federal appropriation window in March 2027 and leveraging county or regional partners to minimize the general-fund hit.
Why it matters: converting from leased space to a city-owned, hardened facility could reduce long-term lease costs (staff cited annual rent of roughly $165,000–$170,000) and better support emergency operations and radio communications during disasters, but it would require substantial upfront capital or successful grant/appropriation awards. Council asked about amenities, staffing and operating-cost implications; staff said operations and maintenance would still need to be sized into the general fund if the building is built.
Next steps: Council gave direction to keep the project in the future-projects list, refine shovel-ready materials for grant windows, and explore federal appropriation and county partnerships. No funding decision was made at the workshop.
