Pandemic and supply chain issues all weighed down on the construction of Bozeman's new Public Safety Center, but city officials are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as construction moves full steam ahead on the 95,000 square foot complex.
“All things considered, it's going pretty well. We certainly had our share of supply chain issues and labor issues, but the contractor is doing a great job pulling all of the resources together,” said Chuck Winn, Bozeman Assistant City Manager.
Winn says that supply chain issues such as the lack of getting electronic chips needed for technology in the building are what affected those delays.
“We have electronic equipment that is particularly difficult to get right now in this building because of it's state of the art,” he said.
The new center was slated for a construction timeline of 20-24 months, which Winn says they are on track to hit.
WATCH: A guided tour of Public Safety Center under construction
“It's been so much fun to see this transition from a derelict lot to a state-of-the-art public safety that is going to serve this community,” Winn said.
The Public Safety Center boasts energy-saving methods such as a solar wall, skylights, and windows to allow for as much natural light in the building as possible.
“We have tried to be smart with the money we had in terms of making sure this building was the most efficient it could be. We have things such as energy recovery, ventilators, the lighting in here and we use outside light when we can,” said Winn.
As construction of the Public Safety Center wraps up, the next project in line is Fire Station 2. Winn looks ahead with takeaways from this project as planning begins for the next one.
“It is the craziest time I've ever seen to try to build something in Bozeman and Gallatin County. What we are learning is that things are slower and they are more expensive so we learned a lot of lessons in terms of value engineering so that you are doing things right the first time so you're not redoing it,” said Winn. “We got a good, safe place for our emergency services to operate, our court to operate, and the public to come and use those services. This is a building this community can be proud of for decades to come."
