FAQs

In 2014, the City conducted an Infrastructure Feasibility and Options Appraisal which evaluated several options of which three were identified for further consideration.  These three options were: build a new facility on a new site, refurbish and expand the existing facility, or build a new facility on the existing site.   

Based on the financial analysis and on operational requirements that must be met during the construction, it was recommended that a new facility be built on a new site.   Renovating/expending the current facility was identified as the most expensive option due to major structural requirements, including the need to meet post-disaster building standards, and major operational challenges during construction/renovation.

The existing policing facility on Main Street does not address the operational needs of current regional police force (Codiac Regional RCMP). There are numerous challenges with the current building, including (but not limited to):

• The existing facility was built 40 years ago for a single police force and is too small for a larger regional police force;
• Several building code deficiencies have been identified;
• The existing facility does not meet post-disaster standards (which is a building code requirement);
• Maintenance and repair requirements are extensive;
• Safety and operational efficiency are compromised for both employees and individuals detained for arrest.

The potential of a new police facility has been actively discussed since 2012. We would encourage residents to consult the project timeline to better understand the significant project milestones to date.

Numerous public presentations have been made to Moncton City Council regarding the new facility. In 2021, the following two meetings can be viewed for the updates on the policing facility:

• April 19, 2021
• October 18, 2021

For future updates, we encourage residents to consult letschatmoncton.ca for the most recent updates to the facility. If residents have questions or feedback, we would encourage them to register for a Let’s Chat Moncton account and engage in the project by posting your questions and feedback, or by emailing letschat@moncton.ca.

Given the nature of this project, there are numerous elements that are confidential. For this project, information is generally deemed confidential based on the following two criteria:

• Public safety- Under Section 68(1)(e) and (h) of the Local Governance Act, any information that could violate the confidentiality of information from other levels of government and/or that contains information around the security of buildings should remain confidential. Given the nature of the security of this building, disclosing certain information can be a security and safety risk.
• Procurement process- to ensure fair value for tax dollars, the City follows robust purchasing and procurement guidelines. We have disclosed the overall project cost estimate, but will not be disclosing individual line items to ensure a fair and competitive bidding process. Numerous reports and studies done since the initial discussions around the police station contain detailed cost estimates. Therefore, this could jeopardize the procurement process for construction of  the new facility. This is considered to be confidential under Section 68 (1)(c) of the Local Governance Act.

The new policing facility will have a total gross area of 6,683 sqm (71,935 sq.ft), excluding the mechanical penthouse.

With 376 staff, it represents approximately 17.8 sqm per person. As part of the planning process, a review of recently-built policing facilities was conducted. It revealed that a municipal police headquarters serving a community of similar size to that of the tri-community typically allocate between 22 and 28 sqm (250 to 300 sq.ft) per person. 

Designing for 25 years is considered standard practice for this type of facility.  It is more cost effective to design for 25 years than to retrofit in the future. Although the difference between anticipated building occupancy under a 25-year planning horizon and current staff represents approximately 45 percent, the theoretical difference in overall space requirements is only 10 percent. This is because the building design is largely impacted by functionality.  Many rooms and building areas would be required regardless of how many employees occupy the facility.  

The building is designed around the actual number of anticipated occupants who require either dedicated or shared workspace. The figures have been given for each unit by the RCMP in their official staffing projections for current +5 years, then applied to plan for the next 25 years. These are estimates, and the actual numbers may vary for a number of operational or other reasons. 

Based on the architectural analysis, a 3-story building would not provide cost savings and would not provide the required functionality.  Planning a police facility of this size on two floors represents the optimal balance between efficient floorplate size and proximities/adjacencies amongst units. It also represents logical and effective grouping of functional units by floor, considering public access, prisoner transportation, internal circulation, daylighting, security and other factors.

The following is the approximate space allocation within the proposed new facility:

• Private or shared office: 22.4%
• Meeting room (includes project rooms, but not critical incident room which is deemed special purpose): 5.3%
• Special purpose (includes vehicle bays, evidence areas, monitoring rooms, laboratory, data centre, IT rooms and the public lobby): 17.3%
• Storage (includes building storage, detachment equipment storage, court files and storage assigned to individual operational units): 6.3%
• Detention and custody (includes secure interview rooms, prisoner transfer garage, in-custody prisoner processing, support spaces and internal circulation): 6.9%
• Amenity space (includes copy rooms, washrooms, locker rooms and break room): 13.2%
• Service space: 13.5%
• Circulation: 15.1%

The tender for construction of the building is expected to be issued in November 2021. It is expected that the tender will be awarded in January 2022 with construction beginning in April 2022. The building is expected to be occupied beginning in February 2024.

The City is proud to achieve high levels of sustainable design and energy efficiency in their publicly-funded buildings. There are numerous environmentally friendly elements for the proposed facility, including:

• LEED® Silver level required
• High level of energy efficiency, heat recovery, LED lighting, etc.
• Healthy interior environment (daylight, interior plants, low-emitting products)
• Water use reduction
• Exterior sunshades
• Sustainable materials
• Solar photovoltaic panels
• Electric vehicle charging stations
• Construction waste diversion

The predicated increase of 32 staff over the 5-year period (from 258 in 2019 to 290 in 2024) represents an average of 6.4 people per year (RCMP and municipal employees), or 2.3% annual growth (number provided by the RCMP).  This anticipated growth is less than the growth occurred between 2013 and 2019 (51 people added over 6 years, averaging 8.5 people per year or between 3.5 and 4% per year - RCMP and municipal employees).

• Projections after 2024 were estimated and anticipated to be lower than what occurred from 2013 to 2019 or estimated for 2019 to 2024. That level of growth was not seen to be sustainable over the long term, therefore future growth projections were reduced to an average of 4.3 people a year or 1.3 to 1.4% annually until the end of 2044.  
• Of the predicted 32 staff, 18 FTE (17 members and 1 municipal employee) have already been added since 2019.

The RCMP assumed policing responsibility in 1998. Before that, there was a municipal police force in Moncton.

A “Comparison Report for Alternate Police Service Delivery Model” has been completed as part of the consideration for a new facility. This report identifies that the facility could welcome an independent police service with a potential need of modifications to reflect the differing functions between the current RCMP model and an independent police service. It is predicted that the facility could not likely meet the long-term staff growth needs as designed, but the building could be expanded to the West.

The comparison report is available to the public and can be found in the “additional resources” section of the project page on Lets Chat Moncton.

The CRPA provides oversight of the RCMP and has appointees from Moncton, Riverview, and Dieppe. The CRPA budget includes RCMP costs and municipal costs, which includes facility rent. More info: https://crpa-aprc.ca/crpa/.

The total project costs are estimated to be $57.2 Million.

The project cost includes construction costs and appropriate contingencies, land acquisition, site remediation and preparation, professional services (i.e architectural/engineering, project management and testing and geotechnical services), furniture and fixtures, information technology systems, security system components, legal fees, interest during construction, public art and HST.

The expected total project cost estimate of $57.2M provided to Moncton City Council on October 18, 2021 was the first Class A estimate for this project. Class A estimates are considered pre-tender estimates, meaning it is based on completed construction drawings and specifications, providing the most detailed and accurate cost projections. The cost estimate provided in 2019 was based on schematic design (preliminary construction drawings that offer a general overview of a project's basic features and construction).

Additionally, COVID-19 presented challenges related to costs and material availability which are considered as part of the Class A estimate. For instance:

• The cost of steel has significantly increased since 2019;;
• A significant federal infrastructure initiative has driven the increase in demand for steel exponentially across the country;
• Supply and demand has created shortages for microchips, which impacts costs for building elements such as HVAC and control systems.
• Lumber prices have risen significantly since 2020, but are expected to have returned to pre-COVID levels.

In 2021, the project team for the regional police facility explored elements of the building design that could be altered/deleted without impacting its functionality or intended use. The cost reduction exercise reduced the total estimate by approximately $1.6M.

The Councils of Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe have ratified a Cost-Sharing Agreement that provides for the sharing of the capital costs and future operating costs of the facility.   The costs will be recovered through the rent on the facility where 100% of annual fiscal, operating and life cycle costs are billed to the CRPA and then as part of the RCMP budget, each of the communities will pay their appropriate share based on the annually established % allocation of policing costs. For 2022, the percentages per municipality, for comparison, would be: 

• Moncton- 70.73%
• Riverview- 10.93%
• Dieppe- 18.33%

The Capital Borrowing Board is a provincial entity that assists in the funding of capital projects for municipal governments. In 2020, the City of Moncton applied with the MCBB for the initial estimated amount. It is expected that in November 2021, the City will apply to the MCBB for the additional funding required based on the Class A estimates.