Sault Ste. Marie asks the state for $8 million toward a combined police and fire station near the airport

SAULT STE. MARIE — Sault Ste. Marie wants a new building that would put its police and fire departments under one roof near Sanderson Field, and it is asking state taxpayers for $8 million to help pay for it.

The request, sponsored by state Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, and posted by the Michigan Senate as a legislatively directed spending item, says both departments have outgrown their space. The Senate posting does not say whether the money was approved, and none of the city’s public documents reviewed for this story show a total project cost.

The Sault Evening News reported Oct. 12 that the city is considering new facilities for police, fire and public works.

Why the city says it needs a new building

The police department leases a building that the city calls undersized, aging and nearing the end of its lease, according to the request. The fire department’s garage bays are too small for its current vehicles, and the station lacks proper separation between sleeping quarters and offices. Both departments plan to add staff in the coming years, the city wrote.

The proposed site is city-owned land near the airport on Meridian Street, which the city says is central and would improve response times. The request lists a timeline of planning in 2026, project development in 2027 and construction in 2028 and 2029. It says the project has received no state or federal money in the past five years.

The city hired OHM Advisors for a facility study of its departments, and that study is now informing the city’s “planned facility implementation process,” according to a summary of the Oct. 5 City Commission agenda packet by the contracts tracker Civic IQ.

What the capital plan shows

The Sault’s six-year capital improvement plan, which the commission approved Feb. 2, does not include a combined police and fire building. Its fire section instead budgets $30,000 in the 2028-29 fiscal year for an engineering study of a bay addition to the existing fire station.

The plan does include a $7,758,770 replacement garage for Dial-A-Ride in 2028-29, with its funding source listed as “TBD.” A May 2025 OHM assessment found the existing Dial-A-Ride building in poor condition and unsuitable for long-term use, citing life-safety hazards including exposed wiring. That one project is the largest single reason the plan’s spending jumps to about $14.7 million in 2028-29, from about $4.8 million in the current year.

The same plan puts $150,000 toward police patrol vehicles in the current year, $92,500 a year for two years toward new police radios, and $350,000 toward an ambulance, all from the general fund.

Why it matters to taxpayers

Earmarks like this one are paid from the state budget, so all Michigan taxpayers would help cover the cost. If Lansing does not fund the request, the city would have to find the money elsewhere or scale back. The Meridian Street corridor is also inside the city’s airport tax capture district, which commissioners extended for 25 years in October; the request does not say whether any of that money would be used.

Sources:
Michigan Senate, Legislatively Directed Spending Item request, City of Sault Ste. Marie, sponsored by Sen. John N. Damoose, posted Jan. 15, 2026 ($8 million, purpose, site, timeline, prior funding), https://committees.senate.michigan.gov/information/legislatively-directed-spending-items/2026/city-of-sault-ste-marie-1/
City of Sault Ste. Marie, Capital Improvement Plan 2026-2032, approved Feb. 2, 2026 (fire bay study, Dial-A-Ride facility and OHM assessment, police and fire equipment, yearly totals), https://www.saultcity.com/media/16521
Civic IQ, “City of Sault Ste. Marie Awards Professional Services Contract to Ohm Advisors (October 2026),” summarizing the Oct. 5, 2026, City Commission agenda packet, https://civiciq.com/public-contract/city-of-sault-ste-marie-mi-ohm-advisors-professional-services-2026-10-04
Sault Ste. Marie Evening News, “Sault considers new facilities for police, fire and public works,” Oct. 12, 2026 (headline), https://www.sooeveningnews.com/story/news/2026/10/12/sault-plans-upgrades-for-police-fire-and-public-works-facilities/92174790007/
Photo: Andrew Everett, “City hall of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan,United States,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:City_hall_of_Sault_Sainte_Marie,_Michigan,United_States.jpg

Sault Ste. Marie

Tags: Sault Ste. Marie · Police · Fire department · Taxpayers · Capital improvement plan · Dial-A-Ride