Council puts public safety facilities on the ballot

With little fanfare, the issue that has dominated Owatonna City Council meetings – and conversations around town – has been settled … for now.

Councilors voted unanimously Tuesday night to authorize a vote on the issuance of bonds to finance the construction of two new public safety facilities.

The question of spending up to $65 million to build a new police station and new fire hall will be on the ballot in a special election, held in conjunction with the Nov. 3 general election.

Residents have been showing up at city council meetings for months to weigh in on the proposed project; the vast majority are against the current plan.

While no one disputes that the firefighters and police officers need better facilities, it’s the location of the police station, specifically, that drew the most opposition.

The plan is to build the new police station on the West Hills Campus, a city-owned 40-acre parcel of land that was once home to the State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children. About 11,000 children lived there from 1886 through 1946, when it closed.

The entire campus is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The two-pronged project calls for the Owatonna Police Department to move into a temporary facility on Bridge Street, tear down the existing police station and construct the new fire hall on that site.

Meanwhile, the new facility at West Hills would be built while the police occupy the Bridge Street building.

Multiple residents who have frequently voiced their objection to the project as presented used their time during the public comment portion of the meeting to thank the council for putting the measure to a vote.

A complete story about the meeting will appear in the June 24 edition of the Steele County Times.