First oppositions to new Austin public safety facility discussed at City Hall

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Members of the public got to weigh in for the first time Monday on a proposal for a new public safety facility.

City leaders are working to acquire a building off of South MoPac Expressway and Barton Skyway to house headquarters for Austin’s police, fire and EMS departments.

Mayor Kirk Watson called the existing buildings, which are spread out across the city, "crummy, pathetic and dirt sorry," citing that as a primary reason for this new endeavor.

The city announced this proposal in a news conference Friday. On Monday, the matter was on the agenda for the Public Safety Committee. The full council is set to vote on whether to approve the acquisition on Oct. 24.

During Monday's meeting, community members expressed concerns related to the environment, building access and security.

"The only way in and out is MoPac, it's the worst possible access, and you're going to load up not one but all three of our first responders and public safety people?" said Bill Bunch with the Save Our Springs Alliance. He also worries about how construction and additional traffic may impact Barton Creek and Barton Springs.

Roy Waley, a real estate agent and environmental activist, also spoke.

"We need to look beyond this location," he said, saying the City has spent millions to preserve Barton Creek and he doesn't feel it makes sense to spend additional millions to build in an area that could undo that work.

Cost and timeline

Watson said the purchase price for the property is about $108 million, and the city estimates it would spend an additional $13 million to renovate the existing buildings and tailor them to the needs of public safety personnel.

Kimberly Olivares, Austin's deputy CFO, called this an "incredible" price point. She said her office has done several cost analyses, and this is far cheaper than the cost of renovating the current buildings, leasing a new space or building a brand new facility. City Manager T.C. Broadnax said this price point is less than half the cost of what it would take to build a new one.

City Council needs to approve this before city staff can move forward. The acquisition will be addressed at Monday's Public Safety Committee meeting and then go to the full council on Oct. 24.

If it does get approved, Olivares expects the closing process to take about six months, and then the renovations begin. While there's no set date on when the facility would be functional, she said staff plan to operate on a "let's go" timeline, considering this a top priority.