Minneapolis council members, leaders oppose $38 million police training center

On March 24, Minneapolis City Council members and community leaders renewed opposition to a proposed $38 million police training center, as debate over public safety spending continues to escalate following the financial impact of Operation Metro Surge.

The proposal, which was introduced to the City Council on March 26, includes a $6 million purchase of a building that would require council approval and is part of a broader capital investment plan for a “shared safety training and wellness center.”

Community members and advocates voiced concerns at a March 24 press conference, arguing the project is being advanced while the city is still absorbing what critics say is more than $200 million in lost revenue tied to Operation Metro Surge.

“I don’t understand how Mayor Frey can even propose something like this when we are still in crisis mode, trying to figure out where the end of the barrel is,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN.

The facility is planned for 146 W. 60th St. in the Windom neighborhood of South Minneapolis. According to the city, the center would expand training space, modernize facilities, and “strengthen community safety outcomes,” including classrooms, locker rooms, VR training spaces, and an indoor gun range.

“Our community safety departments do not have a dedicated space for training or wellness,” the Minneapolis Community Safety Office proposal states. “Most departments make do with areas that are available in their current buildings.”

Critics argue the funding structure effectively places the project on the city’s long-term debt load through its capital budget.

Council Minority Leader Robin Wonsley said the financing approach shifts costs onto taxpayers over time.

“That is our line of credit. We are talking about putting $40 million for the purchase of this building on our credit, and then we will be using your dollars, taxpayer dollars along the way to pay that down,” Wonsley said. “It ignores the fact that the capital has already invested millions of dollars into other public safety facilities.”

Council Member Aisha Chughtai also criticized the administration’s framing of capital funding.

“We have to move away from pretending as though capital dollars are not paid back by taxpayers,” Chughtai said. “Approximately 15% of the median household tax assessment is debt service. It’s paying back debt from our credit cards to things like capital projects.”

Wonsley said the proposal has circulated in city planning documents for years but questioned whether a new facility is necessary, noting that Minneapolis police already train at multiple sites, including the Hamilton Special Operations Center and the Emergency Operations and Training Facility.

She also pointed to existing partnerships with the University of Minnesota and other leased spaces.

“In just the past five years alone, we are spending over $100 million in capital projects just for the Minneapolis Police Department,” Wonsley said.

City officials say existing facilities are outdated and do not meet current training needs.

“They can go and leverage existing partnerships with law enforcement agencies to get some of these needs met, as opposed to also building a new facility,” Wonsley said. “The thing is, MPD doesn’t want to travel to these places. They want to just have it in one convenient site that has showers and all sorts of nice mats and things of that nature.”

The proposal, including the $6 million building purchase, formally introduced to the council on March 26, marked a continuation of debate after a previous version of the plan was vetoed by Mayor Jacob Frey in December 2025.

“We took $5 million away from this project and said, ‘We want you, Mayor Frey and your administration, to go look at alternatives,’” Wonsley said. “And instead, he has brought the same project back.”

The City Council decided on March 26th in a 6-7 vote to delay the vote on the project, and referred it back to Mayor Frey’s staff. Opponents say the renewed proposal underscores broader tensions over how the city should allocate resources during ongoing budget strain tied to Operation Metro Surge.

“We are absolutely advocating that there are more cost effective ways to actually get at the need, not the wants, of a police department,” Wonsley said, “when we are facing a $200 million economic impact on our city.”

Izzy Canizares is a freelance journalist and contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.