Written by Tanya Terry
Featured photo: Fire Chief Theron Wiggins speaks at the recent groundbreaking for a new regional police and fire training center in Flint.
The City of Flint held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, September 10, at the corner of Stewart Avenue and Industrial Avenue for a new regional police and fire training center. Vanessa Pringle, representing the City of Flint, opened the ceremony, highlighting the partnerships and bold administration vision that made the project possible.
Mayor Sheldon Neeley spoke about the facility serving all of over 30 units of government in Genesee County. He thanked Chief of Staff Ed Taylor for driving the initiative and noting the partnership with Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet, Senator Gary Peters and U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin.
Chief of Staff Ed Taylor explained the project’s origin from discussions with Police Chief Terence Green and Fire Chief Theron Wiggins, describing how the team secured funding starting with $250,000 each from police and fire departments, demolished blighted properties and collaborated with the Land Bank.
Police Chief Terence Green spoke about the partnership with Fire Chief Wiggins and the benefits of the local indoor firearms training facility.
Green stated: “Currently, the City of Flint Police Department, our officers have been conducting firearms training in Shiawassee County. We’ve been doing this over 15 years. It’s a cost to the city. It’s a liability to the city traveling to and from this location, eliminating positive man hours, work hours in the city of Flint due to the training process and the travel time and so forth.
“In addition, my colleagues in surrounding police departments, they’re doing the same – a lot of them. So, I wanted this space to be offered to all law enforcement, public safety within Genesee County and beyond, specifically those that have to travel quite a few miles just to conduct firearms training. Now, with this new facility we can train. It’s an indoor firearms training facility. We can train year-round: wintertime, night day, what have you.”
Green also noted that creating the center has also beautified the space as a lot of blight in the area was cleared out.
Fire Chief Theron Wiggins emphasized that firefighters must be prepared for critical decisions under pressure and that the facility will provide tactical training opportunities for departments throughout Genesee County.
Wiggins stated: “Fires do not give us advance notice. Emergencies do not wait for convenient circumstances. And when that alarm sounds, firefighters must be prepared to make critical decisions under pressure. That is why this facility really matters. It really matters.”
Congresswoman McDonald Rivet praised the leadership and emphasized that safety requires collaboration across departments and communities.
Quentin Gross, representing Senator Gary Peters, noted the senator submitted the project for $3 million in federal FY27 budget consideration through HUD.
Matt Franklin, regional manager for Senator Slotkin, conveyed the senator’s congratulations and commitment to supporting the vision.
Adrianna Melchior. Hubbell Roth & Clark, Inc.’s project’s lead architect, described the design of the public safety campus, which includes a restored fire station with flexible training spaces, a 50-yard indoor shooting range, training towers with burn simulation capabilities and secure support facilities designed for collaboration and learning.
The City’s goal is for the new training campus to open in early 2028.
