The Minneapolis City Council plans to vote on a controversial police training site proposal on Thursday.
The proposed training center, located in the Windom neighborhood of south Minneapolis, would include training and wellness spaces for first responders, including the city’s police and fire departments.
The council is divided on whether to approve funding to purchase the site. Supporters say the center would help the city of Minneapolis abide by its consent decree with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights to reform the city’s police department. External reviews of MPD found that the current space is inadequate and recommended a “one-stop shop” for training.
“If you look at every single consent decree-city across this country, every single one of them are engaging in investments across the public safety ecosystem,” said council member Jamison Whiting, who represents the neighborhood where the proposed training center would be located. “I don’t want to be a city that begins to pick and choose what those reforms are.”
Opponents worry the final price tag for the project could be much higher and that the money could be used towards funding other projects. The training center’s proposed budget is around $38 million, which includes $5.6 million reallocated from city budgets for animal control and traffic safety.
The project sparked fierce debate at a council meeting earlier this week. Ahead of that meeting, opponents of the project, including neighbors and activists, voiced their concerns.
“We have higher priorities than a police department that refused to spend within its budget this year — as well as the year before — that is asking for money and resources that they do not deserve,” said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and founder of the Racial Justice Network.
In March, the council voted to delay a decision on funding the training center and give city staff a chance to revise the measure and answer additional questions from council members.
If the purchase is approved, construction on the facility could start in late 2027 or early 2028.
