New Braunfels City Council unanimously awarded a $150,000 contract to Randall Scott Architects for a feasibility study and site assessment for a combined public safety training center June 22.
What you need to know
The feasibility study will identify short- and long-term training facility needs for police and fire. The study will also create a conceptual facility design and provide estimates and potential phasing options for the facility’s build-out. The site assessment will help to identify potential properties for the project, according to agenda documents.
The study is the first step in the process for a potential May 2027 city bond election, New Braunfels Police Chief Osbaldo Flores said. The study will take between six and nine months, according to the June 22 meeting presentation, which means it's expected to be completed sometime between December and March.
Funding for the study will come from the city’s fiscal year 2025-26 police department budget. Flores said the feasibility study is an opportunity to inform City Council on the direction of public safety training.
The joint training facility would provide operational and maintenance savings, long-term cost stability and improve grant competitiveness, according to the meeting presentation.
District 3 council member D. Lee Edwards said he thought it was a great idea to get the study done.
District 1 council member Toni Carter told Osbaldo and Lozano that their folks "deserve a place to call home” in the city.
“If you run into any amount of red tape that takes you outside of six months, you come back to this council and I’m pretty sure you’re going to have the votes to make sure that that red tape disappears,” Carter said.
Newly elected Mayor Michael French said he would like to have more infrastructure for public safety.
“If you guys are together, that’s really good,” French said.
How we got here
A request for qualifications was issued to architectural and engineering firms in January. The city received 11. After police, fire, transportation and construction services staff evaluated each firm and conducted interviews, they found that Randall Scott Architects was the most qualified firm, according to agenda documents.
