Mendota Heights council directs staff to bring municipal campus schematic design to June 2 meeting

Mendota Heights — The City Council reviewed schematic designs for a proposed municipal campus that would house a new city hall and police facility and directed staff to bring schematic design approval to the June 2 council meeting for further consideration.

City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson opened the May 26 work session with a project timeline and introduced the design team. Kyle Walter of ICS summarized feedback from a recent community open house and online submissions, saying residents emphasized transparency, cost sensitivity, sustainability standards and concern for the existing baseball field’s future. Councilors questioned whether online responses reflect the broader community and urged continued outreach.

Councilors and the design team discussed three site-configuration options, parking layouts and reduced space programming compared with earlier planning concepts. The design team presented estimated temporary relocation costs of approximately $1.4 million to $1.7 million if the city elects to build on the current city-hall site; the team said coordinated excavation and relocation of the baseball field could produce some construction efficiencies that reduce those temporary costs.

Security and operational needs for the police facility were a focal point. Council and staff reviewed sally port access, secure circulation, emergency egress, garage access and other operational requirements that drove specific layout choices for the lower and first floors. The design team described shared community spaces — meeting rooms, training rooms and public reception areas — that staff said could be used for election administration and public gatherings.

Councilor discussion also centered on the baseball field. Councilor Mazzitello said he understood the field would be replaced rather than permanently eliminated; Councilor Lorberbaum said any relocation or replacement expenses should be included in total project costs and emphasized coordination with the Two Rivers Athletic Association to keep fields available during construction.

State funding conditions were another material consideration. Councilors confirmed that the inclusion of a Criminal Justice Network (CJN) space was tied to receipt of $4 million in state bonding funds; the design team explained that CJN provided the regionality important to securing those funds. Walter also outlined B3 sustainability requirements connected to state funding and estimated additional costs for compliance at roughly $3.2 million to $3.6 million, figures councilors said will need close evaluation in later design phases.

Soil borings and site investigations have not yet been completed in the baseball-field area, the team said, to avoid incurring unnecessary costs before the council provides direction. The borings would assess groundwater, soil corrections and structural suitability if the council authorizes them.

Councilor Maczko raised concerns about the pace of the process and whether additional alternatives had been fully explored and documented. Walter and other staff clarified that schematic-design approval would set a general site location and project direction but would not constitute final construction approval; subsequent approvals will include design-development and construction-document phases.

After discussion, the council directed staff and the project team to present schematic-design approval on the June 2 council agenda for further review. The work session adjourned at 6:27 p.m.