Master plan for new emergency services training center proceeding.

Following weeks of public comment, City Council is poised to spend $1.8 million on a master plan to potentially build an $86 million public safety training facility in the Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar neighborhood.

During a meeting with city council, Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said the “master plan” is a feasibility study of the 168-acre property for the potential campus, such as looking at existing utility lines and building conditions. It is not a building plan. The deadline for the master plan is May 2026. If it is not completed by then, the property will revert to the federal government.

Additionally, the city can’t use the property for anything other than what it originally requested. The application requesting the former VA site from the Department of Justice for a public safety training campus in 2017 is now a binding agreement with the federal government. However, the city can still change what it includes under the umbrella of public safety, including co-response social workers and violence prevention groups, Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said.

Pawlak said the proposed contract with the engineering firm Henningson Durham & Richardson does not allow the city to use the firm’s business team that provides surveillance and counter-operation measures, such as targeted social media campaigns, to sway public opinion.

Currently, public safety training is spread out across and outside of the city. Schmidt said, between all public safety departments, the city spends over $500,000 on facility rentals and leases.

The legislation, which was first introduced in June, was amended to include what the campus can and cannot be used for at the request of Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park. The 14 approved facilities include a fire burn tower, training classrooms, emergency vehicle storage and an indoor firing range. The property cannot be used for training or coordination with federal law enforcement, replication of urban warfare, or training officers to navigate the city as an occupying force.

The legislation also allows for the public to access parts of the campus such as the firing range, classrooms, and fitness or athletic facilities.

Any future additional funding, planning, or construction, will be subject to a public hearing prior to council vote.