At a June 4 meeting, Sugar Land City Council approved a $1 million budget amendment to renovate the second floor of the police department building and purchase two modular buildings for additional office and training space.
The background
With the move of Fluor Corp. to a 13-story building in the Energy Corridor by the end of this summer, the Fluor Daniel Complex, also referred to as Lake Pointe Plaza, is now expected to become a mixed-use development, Community Impact reported.
The department previously leased a 7,000-square-foot space at the Fluor Daniel Complex for office, training and exercise space for the training and recruiting division, firearms instructors, mental health unit and civilian background investigators. The department’s lease at the complex ended June 1, causing the divisions to move into the existing department building with little space, according to agenda documents.
“We lost a lease and a huge amount of space at Fluor,” Sugar Land Communications Director Doug Adolph said in an email. “We are creatively using space at our existing police building at 1200 [Hwy.] 6 to accommodate these activities. The renovation work and addition of modular buildings is a short-term solution until future funding can be identified to address public safety facility needs.”
Breaking it down
The $1 million amendment comes from a transfer from the fiscal year 2023-24 facilities general fund to the 2024 Capital Improvement Plan general fund for services, including:
- $78,000: design and construction services
- $447,000: purchase and delivery of two modular buildings
- $250,000: renovations to the department’s second floor office space
- $150,000: site work for modular building use
- $75,000: purchase of furniture, fixtures and equipment
Since the department building opened in the early 1990s, the number of police officers, dispatchers and civilian personnel employed in Sugar Land have tripled, according to agenda documents. The department has also added a number of divisions, which need specialized space and equipment, including:
- Drones
- Special Response Team
- K-9 units
- Crime analyst unit
- Mental health unit
- Range master
- Emergency management personnel
In case you missed it
The city also received $1 million in additional congressional funding for its Public Safety Training Facility, officials announced at a May 28 news conference.
The second phase is underway and is expected to be completed by January. While the phase will add planned training space, Adolph said this phase will not address the needs from the loss of space at Fluor. Although, future phases could help, he said.
“Our community continues to identify public safety as a top priority to ensure we remain one of the country’s safest cities,” he said. “Training, equipment and facilities are investments that ensure we are responsive to the needs of our community.”
Looking ahead
City Council will consider a design contract for the second floor renovations and the purchase of the modular buildings at the June 18 meeting, Adolph said.
