Gateway Technical College will host a public listening session on a proposed public safety training center and emergency vehicle driving course, 6:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in Room 100 of the college’s Burlington Center, 496 McCanna Pkwy.
Gateway officials are seeking the input of area citizens and neighbors on its plans to further explore converting the empty Kmart building, 1058 Milwaukee Ave., for its safety training center and renovating and enhancing the Chocolate Fest grounds, 680 Maryland Ave., for the emergency vehicle driving course (EVOC).
Representatives of several groups which are part of the planning process will also be on hand to hear suggestions and comments from the public. Those include:
- Gateway Technical College
- Chocolate Fest
- City of Burlington
- Partners in Design Architects
- The Peter Scherrer Group
The plan calls for subleasing grounds from Chocolate City Festivals Inc. – which leases the grounds from the city – for use when the festival and other community events are not taking place and making enhancements to that site which include making it a suitable for an EVOC training track.
The plan also calls for Gateway to renovate the empty Kmart building to use as a training facility for its law enforcement academy as well as required ongoing training for officers from area agencies.
The public is encouraged to attend. For planning purposes, attendees are asked to please RSVP to admin@scherrergroup.com or call (262) 758-6064.