Auburn advances public safety facility design while trimming proposed indoor firing range

Auburn city officials presented a near-final design and financing update Oct. 20 for a new public safety facility on Mined Avenue, proposing to keep shared training and rolling-asset storage while removing an indoor firing range from the plan to reduce cost.

City Manager Phil Croll told the council the schematic design is about 50% complete and that the engineering team’s current total project estimate is $48,236,424. That figure carries a roughly 5% contingency the city expects to reduce toward 2.5% as design advances and value-engineering occurs. Available offsets include $2.5 million in congressional delegated spending and a $500,000 grant for a burn-building; removing the indoor range would reduce scope by about $1.5 million, Croll said.

The proposed building would place fire apparatus bays on the west side and police functions on the east, with a sallyport and adjacent detention/processing area for short-term detainees. Fire Chief Chase described apparatus-bay layouts intended to minimize backing risks, and said the station design includes a hose tower and space for reserve engines and EMS rapid-response vehicles. He also explained the newly funded burn building and how a separate ‘‘dirty’’ debrief space would keep contaminated gear away from clean training and office areas.

Chiefs and the manager told councilors the city would not use the facility for extended incarceration; police may process detainees there for up to six hours before transfer to the county jail. The chiefs also described a practical/tactical training area for use-of-force and low-light exercises; because live-fire training carries higher annual maintenance costs (the chief estimated roughly $22,000–$25,000 per year), the administration is recommending studying a regional approach for an indoor live-fire range rather than including one on site.

On permitting and environmental concerns, the design team said there is a small stream and wetland area on the site with an existing 4‑ft culvert. Designers have begun agency outreach — including a site visit with the Army Corps and inland fish and wildlife staff — and said a larger culvert or similar mitigation will be permitted to meet stream standards. Regarding runoff from the proposed burn structure, staff said the burn materials will be primarily wood and pallets, not PFAS-containing firefighting foams, and that a water-catchment system would be installed to capture runoff.

Croll outlined the sequencing and logistics: Engine 2 is already under construction; 911 dispatch would move to the third floor of Auburn Hall while the new public safety station is built; some staff would temporarily occupy 95 Main Street; and the current central station at 550 Mined Avenue would be demolished once relocations are complete. The manager said these dependencies are why the council’s confirmation that the project remains on track is important.

Councilors pressed staff on contingency levels, geotechnical investigations, and whether modest reductions in square footage would yield real savings. Allied Cook Construction’s representative cautioned that small uniform reductions in square footage often produce limited cost savings because structural and mechanical systems do not scale linearly.

The ad hoc project committee recommended keeping the burn training building (net cost shown in the packet after the grant) and treating the ‘‘dirty’’ training building as a candidate for deferral or future regional funding; former councilor Andy Titus, speaking for the ad hoc committee, said those changes were intended to reduce the mill-rate impact while preserving core operational needs.

Administration said final design documents will be advanced before Thanksgiving, value-engineering will continue into the new year, and staff will return to the council with refined budgets and public meeting(s) ahead of any formal vote to issue bonds or award construction contracts.

The council did not take a final bond vote on Oct. 20; instead, members asked for clearer, simplified budget charts for the public and confirmation about where a $1.1 million estimate for 911 relocation would be shown. The manager said he will rework the financial presentation and return with final design and cost recommendations at the next regular meeting.