Owatonna facility projects take different paths

The work of adding two new facilities to the City of Owatonna’s inventory will continue in 2025, but along two distinctly different paths.

Residents may be most familiar with a proposed Community Center–they’re the ones who asked for it. Assistant City Administrator Jenna Tuma said city councilors directed staff to look into a community center because of community interest.

“This is a community-driven project, a community ask,” she said. “That’s where this is coming from. We’re listening to the community.”

The project emerged from an extensive review of the city’s structures, 21 of which were assessed in 2022. The resulting Long Range Asset Preservation Plan (LRAPP) looks at both current and future needs; the Community Center and a Public Safety Center have a place in the plan.

While the Public Safety Center project is largely staff-driven– “it’s a base function of city operations, so that has been an internal process,” Tuma said–officials recruited a task force to study the Community Center.

The 18-member group is “a good cross-section of the community” chosen through an application process to represent “as many user groups and backgrounds as possible,” she said.

Task force began work in September and meets for a couple of hours every month.

“We’ve been focused on reviewing what we know, which is the results from the community survey in June,” Tuma said, adding the group will establish guiding principles for the direction of the facility.

In 2025, she said, the group will tour other community centers, making three or four field trips. On their list are facilities in Inver Grove Heights, Shoreview, New Ulm, Maple Grove, Plymouth (an existing facility with a new addition), and Shakopee (a school and city collaboration).

“We’re looking at a wide variety of different concepts… and all different models,” she said. “Some have pools, some have ice rinks or events centers. We’ll probably look at more than we need to.”

There are plenty of steps left in the process, Tuma said. The potential cost of a new Community Center and construction financing options won’t be part of the discussion until the group has an idea what the facility will look like. They’ll also look at the cost of ongoing operations, she added.

Public Safety

An internal group is looking at a potential Public Safety Center, a project that is “somewhat planned and somewhat relatively new,” Tuma said.

The Law Enforcement Center on Pearl Street, shared with the Steele County Sheriff’s Office and Rice-Steele 911 Center, and the Fire Department on Main Street rose to the top of the list for improvements through the LRAPP process. But changes over the past year accelerated the discussion.

Steele County will soon move the Sheriff’s Office into an addition at the Detention Center. Also, Rice-Steele 911 board members voted to move the dispatch center into the Rice County Law Enforcement Center. The Rice County Sheriff’s Office and Rice County Jail are moving into a newly constructed facility in Faribault.

Having the city now sole owner of the property and the Police Department set to become its lone occupant, Tuma said, “I think it’s just giving us more clarity.”

The Fire Department, a historic building on Main Street, has its own issues. A consultant earlier this year cited the need for storage, training space, and modern dorms.

This past spring, officials reviewed information about the condition of both the police and fire buildings and recommended forming a Public Safety Center Task Force to look at deficiencies in both buildings and identify what’s needed (renovations or new construction) to serve the community into the future.

During the Dec. 17 city council meeting, officials approved an agreement with Minneapolis-based ICS to provide Phase 2 consulting services for the Public Safety Center project.

Over the next year, consultants will work with staff on final scoping of the project.

“Hopefully, we complete all of that by the end of the year 2025 and move into the final phase,” Tuma said.

Multiple options are still on the table, including renovation of existing buildings or construction of a new, combined facility.  

“We’re still working through the process,” council member Doug Voss said. “There’s still votes to be had. We’ve got a long way to go yet.”

Officials are also keeping their funding options open; earlier this month, they contracted with legislative lobbyists Lockridge, Grindal, & Nauen PLLP. Tuma said they’re looking for help with potential bonding requests.

For more information about the proposed Community Center, visit ourcommunityourcenter.org. To learn more about the Long-Range Asset Preservation Plan, visit owatonna.gov/1831/Long-Range-Asset-Plan.