SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The City of San Diego approved a $3-million contract for a feasibility study and designs for a multi-purpose training facility for first responders.
The contract was approved Wednesday by the Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Councilman Chris Cate said he is very excited about the opportunity, "the goal in this endeavor is to have a central location for both our firefighters and our police officers to have a viable long term solution for their training facility."
Currently San Diego Police and Fire train at a facility just north of Terminal 2, at Lindbergh Field.
Along with asbestos problems, the entire facility will come down to make way for the Pure Water San Diego Project, that will turn wastewater into drinking water.
"We have to be in construction before that because all of those guys have to be out of there," Cate said the deadline is 2027. He hopes by that time a permanent facility will be open for the first responders.
Some of the items on the wish list, "classrooms, virtual simulations and testing/tactical obstacle courses, life-size training buildings, home simulations simulating burn scenarios, and many other necessary components required for a safe city."
Cate said another important part of the process is weighing the opinions of neighbors, both in households, and businesses. One woman who works nearby said she's worried how much traffic a facility like that could bring.
Cate is most concerned about police, fire and SWAT personnel, "it's incumbent upon us as policy makers to make sure that they have all the tools that they need to do their jobs very well for the public."
The study is set to be completed by Summer 2020. The staff report shows the anticipated schedule for CCBG, an Arizona-based company, as "completion of design by 2021, and construction completion by 2027."
