Lindsborg Safety Center doesn't meet needs. A redesign aims to bring it up to date
LINDSBORG — After limited upgrades since it opened in 1987, the Lindsborg Safety Center, which houses the city's police, fire and emergency medical services, is set for renovations beginning later this year.
Lindsborg Police Chief Michael Davis, who is also the director of public safety, said when he came to the city in 2019, updating the center and the department was one of the first goals he had in mind.
Davis said the age and layout of the buildings creates a lot of limitations for the officers and other first responders who use it everyday.
What struggles does the Safety Center have right now?
Some examples of the limitations of the building include few electric outlets in each of the offices, only a few places for internet connections and limited space for a growing police force.
"I (currently) only have two officer working stations," Davis said.
The limited space isn't just an issue for officers but can become an issue for the public as well.
"I have no interview rooms," Davis said.
Right now, if interviews have to be conducted, officers have to make use of the workstation, potentially displacing another officer who is working, or doing the interviews in the hallway or lobby.
"When you're doing an interview for a sensitive case (such as) domestic violence, you don't want to do that out in the public," Davis said.
Davis said while the building is not going to expand its footprint, continuing to take up the space designated at Lincoln and First Streets near downtown Lindsborg, the interior will get a whole new look.
"We have to gut this whole (office area) and they're going to completely redesign it," Davis said.
While the renovations are happening, the police department will temporarily relocate its office space to another city building downtown.
In addition to more work stations for officers, the redesign will also include some technology upgrades, adding a dedicated detective office, getting more space and security for records and evidence collecting and a move of the main office entrance to where the building is actually addressed, on First Street, rather than the current entrance off of Lincoln.
Upgrades for fire and EMS as well
Since the Safety Center isn't just where Lindsborg houses its police, but also its EMS and its volunteer fire department, those operations will benefit from the renovations as well.
For EMS, Davis said a big upgrade will be to add an enclosure over that building's exterior staircase that leads to a basement.
"It floods (during) heavy rains," Davis said.
That basement is an ideal location for not only EMS work, which is now contracted out through American Medical Response, but is also a place the city of Lindsborg could use for an emergency operations center in the event of a disaster.
As for the fire department, one of the biggest upgrades will be the addition of indoor water refilling capabilities for its tanking apparatuses, a benefit to the department and to the public.
"Right now, if the fire department comes back from a fire and they have to refill, they have to go out on (Lincoln Street) and hook up to a fire hydrant, which blocks traffic," Davis said.
He said it's also beneficial to have indoor refilling in the event of bad weather.
"Our goal is to put some water lines in the bay, and from the safety of the bay they can fill the trucks right back up," Davis said.
The bay also will receive upgrades to its garage doors, which Davis said are in need of modernization.
"Those doors are, in my understanding, the original doors, so we'll put new doors and garage openers in," Davis said.
Finally, a decontamination area will be added to the bay, so that if firefighters need to get rid of substances off their gear or body after a fire or other incident, they will be able to.
An upgraded exterior look
The interior of the Safety Center buildings isn't the only renovation taking place. There will be a different look to the exterior as well.
While the facade of the building will look different and a little more modern, Davis said he doesn't want to take away from the history and culture that's already here.
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"Part of what we want to do is keep our Lindsborg community culture," Davis said. "Some of the things that we're known for, (like) the Dala horses and things like that, we're looking to implement that here."
The designs aren't finalized yet, but Davis said another feature he's hoping to have is glass bay doors so that people can see what the fire apparatuses look like as well as to offer more natural lighting to the bay.
How will this renovation impact the community?
The renovation of the Lindsborg Safety Center is expected to begin later this year, hopefully no later than November.
Davis said the whole project is expected to cost around $700,000, but the city decided to split that cost over two years, through both the 2022 and 2023 budgets.
Obviously the upgrades to the exterior, particularly the relocation of the main entrance to the First Street side, will be noticeable to the public, but Davis said most of the upgrades to the entire Safety Center will be something that might not be as noticeable.
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"It's not something (people) will see right away," Davis said. "But (this project) will make us more effective, more efficient and I think will be a benefit to the public."
He said the intent behind this upgrade isn't to completely change the entirety of the department or its buildings, as that isn't something that would be worthwhile to the public.
"We're just trying to get something to utilize our space more effectively so we can do a better job at what we do," Davis said. "What comes with that is happy employees, pride in the place they work and that makes for a better police force. It gives something for the community to be proud of."
This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Lindsborg Safety Center will get needed renovations starting this year
