Shortfall in public facilities forecast in Chubbuck

An engineering study indicates the city of Chubbuck will face a deficiency of nearly 28,000 square feet of space to meet the needs of its fire, police, maintenance, parks and city hall administration within the next 20 years.

The study identified deficits based on projected growth rates, current and future staffing needs, and building space inventories. It also looked at overcrowded working conditions, building space needs, and the need for additional fire stations to meet response-time demands.

Mayor Kevin England says he and city department heads will offer some options to the full City Council during upcoming budget proposals.

“In light of the findings of study, over the past several months department heads and I have been reviewing options and costs for how to meet current and projected demands,” said Chubbuck Mayor Kevin England. “Options that we have evaluated include expanding and remodeling existing city hall to continue to accommodate the police department and city hall, remodeling existing city hall to accommodate the police department and constructing a separate city hall building, and identifying where to best locate future fire stations. We have to do something as our employees are stepping over each other just to do their jobs.”

According to the report, Chubbuck’s population nearly doubled from 7,834 to an estimated 14,869 in 2017.