Council advances police facility needs assessment and communication-center plan to 60% design

Consultants from App Architecture and ESG presented the results of a months-long needs-assessment for Huber Heights' police facilities, recommending additions and renovations to the existing station plus an adaptive-reuse communications center in a separate building at Timbercrest and Taylorsville.

Architect Tim Beemons said the plan would add contiguous, secured parking (about 48 covered stalls), expanded evidence storage and processing areas, larger training space, modern mechanical systems, a storm shelter, and dedicated tactical-vehicle storage. The design strategy is to build new addition space first so operations (including dispatch) can move into temporary facilities and the existing station can be renovated thereafter. The proposed communications center would be retrofitted in an existing concrete building with raised floors, a central server/IT hub and an emergency operations/training space.

Police leadership supported the plan as a multi-decade solution. The police chief said the current building is worn and lacks space for modern operations. City staff requested authorization to move to Phase 3 (60% drawings) to refine costs and return with precise estimates.

"We put a lot of hours into it...this gives you just kind of a picture of the fact that we have spent a lot of time with staff and leadership working through the details," Tim Beemons said, summarizing the consultant team's work. Chief Lang, who recently took the position, said he had been able to participate in earlier meetings and called the plan "exciting" and necessary to meet growth and operational needs.

Council indicated support for continuing the design through 60% and asked staff to ensure neighborhood outreach around the communications-center site. No final appropriation vote occurred at the work session; staff said the next step is a budget estimate based on 60% documents.