In between two days of marathon City Council meetings, Ward 11 Council Member Jamison Whiting met with constituents about a proposed training and wellness building for police and other emergency staff. His constituents that showed up to Turtle Bread Company on March 25, 2026 were not thrilled with the idea.
Minneapolis Public Schools need resources, the Minneapolis Police Department has gone over budget multiple times, and the city was burned out from Operation Metro Surge with a perceived lack of support from local police.
The land for the proposed building, near 60th Street and Pillsbury Avenue, is in the Windom neighborhood, which Whiting represents. The land is surrounded by mostly industrial space but is bordered by one block of apartment buildings and single-family housing.
The City Council had recently voted down a proposed 60-day eviction notice for Minneapolis renters, so constituents wanted to talk about that, too.
Whiting strived to be transparent and find common ground with constiuents during the meeting. Before Whiting was elected to City Council, he was the City’s assistant attorney, working on police reform.
“I see this not as a $38 million investment into policing,” Whiting told constituents. “I see it as a $38 million investment into public safety.” The proposed Community Safety Training and Wellness Center is estimated to cost $38 million to build and the land would cost $6 million to purchase.
Whiting said disabled people have reached out to him in favor of the center because of the ability to train officers to better interact with disabled people.
Constituents did not seem to be swayed by Whiting’s anecdotes.
“When I hear about the center, they're learning how to use their guns better,” a MPS special education teacher said at the meeting. “I don't want to make sure they learn how to use their guns better. That means they're going to use them more.”
The proposed center would likely include a shooting range which is currently located in the 4th Precinct in North Minneapolis. Whiting also told the crowd of roughly 40 people that no one at the City has specifics of what will be in the building, including a basic design plan.
“We need to have site control for the land to get a $19 million bond from the state to actually get any of this,” Whiting said. “We need to hire someone to actually design what this would look like, and that is when specifics of what would be here would come out.”
Many constituents that talked with Whiting said they wished the resources for the police could be used towards MPS, which is facing a $50 million budget shortfall. The City helps fund school based clinics and Stable Homes Stable Schools.
“While I would love to be able to give $50 million to MPS’ school based clinics, I don't want to cut it. I know that,” Whiting said. “I promise you that if they come to me and say, ‘Hey, we need to pull from school based clinics to fund this.’ You're not going to see me support that.”
The day after meeting with constituents, Whiting proposed to delay the decision to purchase the Windom land. The City Council passed Whiting's proposal with a 7-6 vote.
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