Funded by a 2023 voter-approved bond package, the project will increase the Round Rock Public Safety Training Center’s classroom space, outdoor skills training space and include a driving track. These enhancements will keep officers and firefighters in town for training and reduce local competition for training space, avoiding the expense of travel and lodging.
The big picture
Since the completed construction of the Public Safety Training Center in 2018, the Round Rock Police Department and Round Rock Fire Department have each grown by over 50 personnel to serve a city of over 140,000.
However, the center has remained the same size.
“It truly is a fight to sometimes find free space because the classrooms are full,” Fire Department Chief Shane Glaiser said.
Mayor Craig Morgan said the facility will ensure a high level of training and avoid the fire and police departments having to compete for space.
“You’ve got to be prepared for every potential crisis that may happen,” Morgan said. “I think that this helps them to be able to continue to do that.”
The expansion will add 4,700 square feet of classroom space, increasing the number of classrooms from three to five and bringing the total capacity to about 200 people.
Classroom space is particularly necessary, Glaiser said, as new and existing officers and firefighters train new skills and brush up on previous training throughout their time with the city.
When the city first built the PSTC in 2018, budgetary constraints led to a reduced scope, with smaller classrooms and fewer training spaces.
The city has long eyed the build-out of the existing training center, and this second phase will fill out remaining space available at the site on Mays Street.
The addition of another skills pad—a concrete slab where first responders can practice extricating people from car accidents—and a high-speed driving track will allow Round Rock to do the vast majority of public safety training within the city, Police Chief Allen Banks said.
“From the very beginning, our goal has been to create a centralized, state-of-the-art facility where both police and fire personnel can receive consistent, high-quality training without having to leave Round Rock,” Banks said. “Having these resources in one place saves time, reduces costs and allows our first responders to train more frequently and efficiently.”
In addition to providing a local option for Round Rock first responders, the PSTC has hosted many local, state and federal agencies.
“A lot of entities come and go to training here,” Morgan said. “Our teams are the ones that are doing the training. We’re being looked at as a department to help surrounding communities.”
Glaiser said other departments and public safety entities that come to the training center are not frequently billed for its use but are expected to bring their own combustible materials and other needed items for training.
Stay tuned
City crews are set to begin construction on the expansion to the PSTC in December, with completion expected in early 2027, according to city staff.
While the expansion will build out the remaining space on the land already occupied by the PSTC, city officials have not ruled out future expansions to include additional facilities in the city as needs change.
Glaiser suggested the city could make further expansions to the facility by going vertical and adding another floor, while Morgan said the city could explore another facility entirely if that became something needed.
