Chaska Police Chief Ryan Seibert, Chaska Fire Chief Stephen Kraus and Fire Inspector Alan Tarman stand in front of the plans for the new public safety building that combines police and fire. It is expected to be complete in fall 2025.
As the southwest metro continues to grow, cities are looking to trade in their outdated and ill-suited facilities for ones that are better able to meet the demands of today's residents.
Chaska, being the only city in Carver County with its own police force, would seemingly face a unique challenge in this regard as it has both a police and fire station. But, in its planning, the city has found an opportunity to not only strengthen these departments individually, but public safety as a whole.
Last month, an open house was held to discuss Chaska's Building Improvement Program. The event focused primarily on the program's proposed Public Safety Campus and included virtual walk-through tours, an informational presentation and a Q&A segment.
The Building Improvement Program consists of a few different facility improvements the city hopes to complete in the coming years. These included the Public Safety Campus, which will house Chaska police and fire departments, the city's municipal services building, the library and City Hall.
According to the Oct. 25 open house presentation, most of the buildings in the program are over 35 years old, with the fire station creeping up on 30 years as well.
"As Chaska's grown, we've added staff, we've needed to add equipment to keep our city facilities running at a high level, but these buildings unfortunately haven't kept up," Chaska Mayor Mark Windschitl said in his opening remarks at the open house.
"We've had to be creative. We've squeezed as much as possible into different spaces, and we're getting as much out of these buildings as we can for workspaces for our employees and storage areas for equipment," he continued. That being said, the Mayor told the audience, these facilities are essentially at capacity.
The city has deemed the shared Public Safety Campus its highest priority. Since the current police station opened, the number of Chaska police officers has increased from 11 to 31, Chaska Police Chief Ryan Seibert said. Furthermore, the facility lacks adequate security measures, space for police trainings and investigative detentions, and has insufficient storage for evidence and equipment.
Similarly, the fire station lacks proper boarding to accommodate overnight shifts as the department moves away from the once exclusively on-call model, according to Chaska Fire Chief Stephen Kraus. Additionally, a new facility would allow the department to implement updated health and safety measures for firefighters including cancer, cardiac, and mental health concerns.
The shared space would allow the fire and police departments to share resources and equipment, and it would serve as a central public safety hub for the city.
The estimated cost of the new public safety campus is $47,500,000, which would be funded in part by increasing the annual tax levy and utility costs over the next few years. This would come out to an additional $8/month for the average Chaska household, according to Chaska Administrative Services Director Noel Graczyk.
The plan for the public safety facility received preliminary approval from the Chaska Planning Commission in early November and was considered for preliminary approval by the City Council at the Monday, Nov. 20, meeting.