Future of City Facilities

Background

During a Strategic Planning Session in 2021, the City Council identified 6 strategic visions for the future. One of those strategic visions is "In 2025, Chaska has quality facilities." 

As a part of that vision, the Council and Department Heads developed the following direction: "Reinvesting in core assets so that facilities are adequate to meet the growth of the community and reflect community pride."

What facilities?

  • Municipal Services Building (MSB)
  • Public Safety Facility (Police Station and Fire Station)
  • City Hall
  • Chaska Library

Why now?

  • City Hall, Police Station, and Municipal Services Building are all over 30 years old
    • Not many improvements made to the buildings during that time
    • Need to reinvest now before building conditions get worse and maintenance costs go up
  • Space needs study in 2017 showed that city departments need more space to accommodate staff and equipment that provide city services
  • Chaska is still growing. There has been increase of 17,000 residents over the lifespan of these facilities, and we need to build to accommodate current and future growth
  • Fund future maintenance needs
  • Fund new library building

Current picture


Fire Department

Who works here?

  • Paid-on-call Firefighters
  • Fire inspections (commercial and rental properties)
  • Command staff 
  • City IT Department
When Fire Station built in 1996Today
No full-time staff8 full-time employees
40 paid-on-call firefighters41 paid-on-call firefighters
Calls sent to all firefighters via pagers, firefighters would respond to station and then go to the callsDuty crew model - firefighters staff station Monday thru Saturday 8am-10pm, respond to calls from station during those times
Approximately 600 calls for service (1996)Approximately 1,300 calls for service (2022)


Take a virtual tour of the Fire Station

Police Department

Who works here?

  • Patrol officers
  • Community service officers (CSOs)
  • Investigations
  • School resource officers (SROs)
  • Command staff
When Police Station built in 1996Today
1988 city population = 10,0182020 city population = 27,810
9 licensed officers29 licensed officers
2 office staff5 community service officers and 4 office staff
5,000 calls for service (1988)11,500-13,000 calls for service (average)


Take a virtual tour of the police station

Looking to the future - Public Safety Facility

Public Safety Facility showing space allocation for fire, police, parking, and publicOur objectives

  • Unified public safety facility with Police and Fire
  • Use existing City property
  • Enhance community engagement
  • Focus on employee wellness

The process

  • Went through a request for proposal (RFP) process in January/February 2023
  • Chose CNH
  • Approached project as a remodel/addition (remodel existing Fire Station, add Police Station)
  • Original space needs study presumed 2nd floor could be added to the east bays of the Fire Station, and then both floors would be used for crew quarters, locker space, training, etc.
  • CNH structural analysis of existing building determined footings/foundation not built to accommodate a 2nd floor. 
  • Shape of existing building created challenges with interior flow - square footage would need to be added to accommodate current and future office space, training space, and emergency operations center (EOC).
  • CNH and RJM (construction consultant) did analysis of costs of project under assumption that existing station was taken down and replaced with new public safety facility.
  • Analysis found construction costs for new building nearly identical to remodel/addition to station.

Why a new building?

  • Structural analysis done by architect firm CNH found that footings/foundation of Fire Station were not built to accommodate a 2nd floor. That means the east bays would need to be demolished and rebuilt to structurally support a 2nd floor, which would be necessary to fit spaces for crew quarters, lockers, training, and decontamination 
  • More efficient use of space
  • Long-term maintenance for new building more cost effective
  • Reduces construction timeline which reduces time needed to relocate Fire Department during construction
  • Flexibility for the future
  • Cost of new construction similar to remodel/addition

What this plan brings to the table

  • No property acquisition
  • Current Fire Station site is centrally located in the city, making it an ideal location for public safety campus
  • Community space for public events and meetings
    • Police Department Picnic
    • Safety Camp
    • Police and Fire Explorer programs
    • Fire Department Open House
  • Provides training spaces, secure parking, adequate locker rooms, and break areas for Police and Fire Department staff
  • Current Fire Station would be replaced with a new public safety facility for Police and Fire Departments

Planning process

View our proposed development page to follow planning process.