New Public Safety Building

Both entities have outgrown their current facilities. They need more space and more modern features. The current police station was built in 1999 and was never intended to be used for public safety. It was the old Bee Cave City Hall until 2008 when it was retrofitted to house the newly created Bee Cave Police Department. It lacks separate interview rooms for suspects and victims. The evidence room is too small and does not have a modern ventilation system. The only shower is in a small room that also doubles as the broom closet. 

For Lake Travis Fire Rescue, the Bee Cave station is the second busiest station in their service area, but they are unable to call in extra crews during big emergencies because there isn’t enough space. The building also lacks training rooms. The only place to work out at the station is in a converted attic space. 

Both the Bee Cave Police and LTFR are in aging buildings that do not meet the needs of their growing departments. 

Police officers and firefighters often respond to the same calls. Sharing a building encourages better coordination and collaboration between these two separate entities. The new building will significantly enhance LTFR’s ability to respond to potential disasters like wildfires. The increased coordination with law enforcement and the shared training facilities will streamline communication and response efforts. Additionally, the new space will allow LTFR to call in additional firefighters or resources if needed, something their current space doesn't allow for. This will ultimately lead to better service provided to the Bee Cave community.

No, LTFR is an Emergency Services District (ESD) and is a separate entity from the City of Bee Cave.

The joint public safety building will be just under 36,000 square feet. LTFR’s space will be 14,725 square feet. BCPD’s space will be roughly 17,450 square feet. The facility also includes 3,700 square feet of shared space for training rooms and a gym. 

The new Bee Cave Police Station will include various functional spaces such as evidence storage, equipment storage, private offices, interview rooms, and facilities for victim services. The facility will also contain a fully equipped locker room which includes storage of necessary gear such as bulletproof vests.

The LTFR Station will have 4 drive-through bays for fire trucks, 12 bunk rooms, 5 offices, a full kitchen, and a decontamination room. 

LTFR and BCPD will share a training room which includes an attached break area. They will also share an gym to accommodate both entities. 

The address is 13301 State Highway 71, Bee Cave, TX, 78738

The joint public safety building will be built on land that is directly adjacent to the existing BCPD building and LTFR Fire Station 603. 

Currently, both BCPD and LTFR have outgrown their facilities. The overcrowded and non-functional spaces will be exacerbated over the coming years with projected population growth to their service areas on the horizon. In addition, as construction prices continue to rise the facility will become more expensive with the passage of time.

The City of Bee Cave and LTFR have executed an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) that lays out the cost sharing terms. Each entity pays 50% for design and professional services costs. For construction costs, each entity will pay 100% of their individual costs, and 50% of shared space costs.

The M&O costs will be established in a Joint Facility Agreement between LTFR and City of Bee Cave. The building is designed in such a way that each entity will have a clear understanding of operational costs, such as separate utility metering. Maintenance costs will be negotiated in the Joint Facility Agreement.

The City of Bee Cave spent several months in 2024 working with their Owner Representative, Construction Manager, and Architect to reduce costs, resulting in more than $200K in savings. While the Bee Cave City Council has allocated up to $18M for their portion of the public safety building, the current projected costs come to $17.8M. LTFR has allocated $13M for their portion of the building. 

The City of Bee Cave will use existing general fund resources such as sales tax to finance their portion of the building. These resources will pay for any qualified tax-exempt obligations issued for construction of the facility. 

LTFR is funding construction costs with qualified tax-exempt promissory notes. Of the $13M in tax notes, $5.3M was approved and issued by LTFR in July 2024. As the project progresses, the board will reassess funding sources for the remaining $7.7M.

Check out the city’s website, www.beecavetexas.gov or email communications@beecavetexas.gov.