Public Safety Facilities Project

A Brief History
The building currently occupied by the DAFD and WCSO is located at 8140 Main St. This approximately 10,000 sq. ft. facility was constructed in 1957 for use by the Village of Dexter, including the Village's fire department and department of public works. The Village's law enforcement occupied a different building downtown.

The DAFD was formed in 1985 via an interlocal agreement consisting of the City of Dexter, Dexter Township, and Webster Township. When the DAFD was formed, it assumed the fire fighting assets of the Village of Dexter Fire Department and continued to occupy the facility located at 8140 Main Street.

Current Public Safety Services
Today, the DAFD responds to approximately 1500 calls per year. It operates out of three stations, with one station in each jurisdiction - City of Dexter, Dexter Township, and Webster Township.

The DAFD administrative staff is comprised of a full-time Chief and two Assistant Chiefs, a fire inspector (captain), and an administrative assistant. It also employs 12 full-time firefighters (not including the Fire Chief) and approximately 12 paid-on-call firefighters.

The DAFD provides 24-hour coverage for an area of 85 square miles with a population of over 25,000 people. The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office provides 24-hour coverage of policing services to several communities within Washtenaw County, including the City of Dexter.

Per the DAFD interlocal agreement and the contract with the WCSO, the City is to provide facilities for these entities.

Timeline of Events

  • August 8th, 2022 - The Dexter City Council voted to place the Public Safety Facilities Bond on the November 8th ballot.
  • November 8th, 2022 - Dexter residents voted to pass the Public Safety Facilities Bond.
  • November 11th, 2022 - The Dexter City Council voted to allocate $1,000,000 of General Fund balance to the Public Safety Facilities project. This would be added to the roughly $8.4 million that would be collected by the approved bond millage, bring the total project budget to $9.4 million.
  • November - December, 2022 and January - February, 2023 - The Dexter City Council included the Public Safety Facilities project as a topic of discussion on almost every agenda, as well as held a work session to discuss the project.
  • February 27th, 2023 - The Dexter City Council designated the current site of the fire station/police substation, 8140 Main Street, as the continuing site of the future public safety facilities. City Council voted to authorize the issuance of the 2023 Unlimited Tax General Obligation Bonds for the Public Safety Facilities project.
  • March 13th, 2023 - The Dexter City Council voted to approve Architectural Design Services from Partners in Architecture for the Public Safety Facilities project.
  •  March 27th, 2023 - The Dexter City Council approved proposals from OHM Advisors and ASTI Environmental for engineering, geotechnical and environmental work related to 8140 Main Street.
  • April 10th, 2023 - The Dexter City Council approved site analysis work from OHM Advisors, ASTI Environmental, and G2 Consulting related to 8140 Main Street.
  • April 24th, 2023 - The Dexter City Council amended their Organizational Matters document to create a Public Safety Facilities User Group, which would consist of three council members, one council member alternate, the DAFD Chief, a firefighter, WCSO Supervisor, a sheriff's deputy, and Dexter City staff (City Manager & Public Services Superintendent). 
  • May 17th, 2023 - First meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • May 22nd, 2023 - The Dexter City Council voted to release the Public Safety Facilities Construction Manager RFP/Q.
  • May 24th, 2023 - Second meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • June 7th, 2023 - Third meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • June 20th, 2023 - Bids for the Public Safety Facilities project were received. The City of Dexter collected nine (9) bids from prospective construction managers.
  • June 21st, 2023 - Fourth meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group. 
  • June 22nd, 2023 - The Public Safety Facilities User Group met to interview three prospective construction managers. From the interviews, the user group formulated a recommendation to City Council for the upcoming meeting on June 26th.
  • June 26th, 2023 - The Dexter City Council voted to select Cunningham-Limp as  the Public Safety Facilities project Construction Manager.
  • July 5th, 2023 - Fifth meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • July 19th, 2023 - Sixth meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • August 2nd, 2023 - Seventh meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • August 8th, 2023 - Eighth meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • August 14th, 2023 - City Council provided direction to City staff regarding temporary facilities for the DAFD and WCSO during the renovation of 8140 Main Street and discussed the direction of the permanent facilities located at 8140 Main Street. Partners in Architecture, the City's architect for the project, provided a presentation to City Council.
  • August 22nd, 2023 - Ninth meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • September 5th, 2023 - Tenth meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • September 12th, 2023 - Eleventh meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • September 19th, 2023 - Twelfth meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • September 25th, 2023 - City Council provided direction to Partners in Architecture to focus on the following in the design of the fire station: (1) 5 bays on Main, 2 bays at the Park level; (2) a 2-story building; (3) raw space at the Park level; and (4) vertical circulation on the Park level. Council also desired for Partners in Architecture to create a cost and feasibility study to analyze locating the Sheriff at City Hall or an additional location and to consider various options as alternatives. 
  • October 3rd, 2023 - Thirteenth meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • October 9th, 2023 - City Council directed Partners in Architecture to consider to the relocation of the Sheriff to a location other than 8140 Main Street.  Council also voted to exempt the temporary fire station project from the zoning ordinance.
  • October 17th, 2023 - Fourteenth meeting of the Public Safety Facilities User Group.
  • October 23rd, 2023 - City Council approved a contract with Partners in Architecture to provide Phase Two services for the construction of the public safety facilities.
Public Safety Facilities User Group Agendas
* = Formal agenda not provided for meeting

Public Safety Facilities Drawings, Renderings, and More
Public Safety Facilities Construction Manager Proposals
* = Selected as Construction Manager for Public Safety Facilities

Additional Information Resources
Information related to City Council's discussions and considerations can be found in their agendas, packets and minutes found at: https://dextermi.gov/government/cc.php. City Council meetings are also recorded, and can be found on the City's YouTube channel and the previously mentioned link.