The Plan
Your Safety Is Our Priority
The City of Hibbing has developed the Your Safety, Our Priority plan to build a new regional public safety center that will bring together the fire and police departments under one roof to better serve our residents and community.
Watch Our Your Safety, Our Priority Overview Video:
A centralized public safety center is a regional commitment to keep people safe. It means having the right people, equipment, collaboration and training to respond quickly and provide our residents, community and region with the best service possible.
Centralizing Public Safety Services
Hibbing is a regional hub for public safety. The city must ensure our public safety departments provide high-quality, timely, coordinated services that our residents, community and region deserve. A new regional public safety center will allow all public safety departments - fire, EMS and police — to share a space equipped to meet their needs, foster stronger collaboration, improve response to emergencies and non-emergencies and enhance efficiency.
The recommended square footage to effectively house the Hibbing Police Department and Hibbing Fire Department in the same building is roughly 65,000 sq ft. The below conceptual rendering shares one of the potential layout options on about 63,000 sq ft. If this design is chosen, the new facility could be attached to the current Public Works Building or stand alone on a different, to be determined, open plot of land.
Key features of the new facility include:
A safe, healthy work environment
Larger bays for firetrucks and tactical gear
Indoor parking for police vehicles and squads
Dedicated locker rooms for police and fire personnel
Dedicated space for evidence storage
Designated storage for equipment
Expanded training space
Improved collaboration among departments
Direct access to main roads
Adequate parking for public safety staff and visitors
Benefits of a New Regional Public Safety Center
A shared facility for the Police and Fire Departments presents an opportunity to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance public safety. Building a new public safety center would eliminate the need to lease space from the county, maintain multiple facilities and continually repair a deteriorating building. Benefits of a new regional public safety center that unites our first responders under one roof include:
Cost Savings: Building and maintaining a separate facility for each department is expensive. Sharing space can significantly reduce construction costs, operational expenses like utilities, and maintenance, and potentially staffing costs.
Increased Efficiency: Shared spaces can streamline operations. A common training room, meeting rooms, or a shared dispatch center could improve communication and collaboration between departments.
Enhanced Public Safety: Shared facilities can foster closer working relationships between police and fire personnel, leading to better coordination during emergencies and potentially faster response times.
Improved Community Engagement: A shared facility could serve as a central hub for community outreach programs, fostering a stronger sense of partnership between the departments and the community they serve.
Potential to Enhance the City’s Tax Base: The plan could also help broaden the city’s tax base. If the proposed plan is approved by voters, the public land where the fire department headquarters building is currently located would be converted to commercial land. This would create new opportunities to attract and retain businesses and expand the city’s tax base to help pay for essential city services. It would also help limit future tax increases on property owners.
Conceptual Renderings for the Proposed Regional Public Safety Center
At the July 31 special City Council meeting, conceptual renderings of the proposed regional public safety center were shared. The below images were designed by Brunton Architects and Engineers specifically for the City of Hibbing’s proposed public safety center. They feature materials that reflect the history, industry and environmental aesthetics of our community and are designed to be visible, accessible and welcoming to the public.
All images and renderings are conceptual in design and are being shared to help residents understand the vision for the proposed plan. All depictions are subject to change as needed based on final costs, location, and identified needs of the city’s essential public services.
Renderings provided by Brunton Architects
“These designs reflect Hibbing’s history with modern twists that lean toward the future. ”
