Roswell took a big step toward expanding its 911 services with the purchase of property located at 11261 Alpharetta Highway for $5.9 million to house the City’s new 911 Call Center, Emergency Operations Center and a shooting range for the Police Department.
At its March 11 meeting, the City of Roswell City Council unanimously voted for the purchase. Roswell voters overwhelmingly approved $52 million for Public Safety capital projects in the November 2022 bond referendum and the City will be using bond funds to purchase the property and renovate the existing building.
Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson said he and Council are delivering on the promise to residents to enhance and improve public safety. “We promised Roswell voters that we would use bond monies to invest in public safety capital projects, and that’s exactly what we are doing,” said Mayor Kurt Wilson. “We are moving forward with purpose and are being very intentional in everything we do, including this purchase for new 911 and Emergency Operation Centers and a shooting range for our police officers.”
The 6.34 acre site was owned by the North Fulton Shooting Club and houses an 18,304 square-foot building which includes an indoor shooting range, a sales center, workshop and storage areas. The City will renovate the existing building for the 911 Center and Emergency Operations Center, and will retain the 11,800 square-foot shooting range.
We promised Roswell voters that we would use bond monies to invest in public safety capital projects, and that’s exactly what we are doing,”
Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson
The 911 Center and the Emergency Operations Center must be housed in a hardened facility which can withstand severe weather and hurricane force winds. Buildings that meet those standards are rare, but the SharpShooters building meets those criteria. Purchasing the site instead of building a hardened structure has saved the City significant money and will allow it to move forward more quickly with its promise to improve public safety facilities.
“We are working very hard to make sure we get the maximum benefit from every dollar that the tax payers have committed when they approved the bond referendum,” Mayor Wilson said. “We are very fortunate this property became available for us to purchase.”
The building will readily tie into the City’s existing communication network that links City of Roswell facilities which is important for both the 911 Center and the Emergency Operations Center. The shooting range will also give the City an opportunity to generate revenue by renting it to other law enforcement agencies in the area.
The City estimates that it will take 16 months to design and renovate the building and anticipates completion in the fall of 2025.
The final purchase and closing on the property will be subject to the standard due diligence review. The City expects to close on the property soon.
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To learn more about the City of Roswell’s Bond Program, visit www.RoswellGov.com/Bond
