Police station bids higher than expected
If the $7.3 million price tag is accepted, construction could start as early as May
The lowest base bid for construction of the new Moscow police station is about 12 percent above the architect’s estimate, but Bill Belknap, deputy city supervisor of community planning and design, said he believes the city can make it work.
“We would have preferred the bids to come in closer to the estimate,” Belknap said. “The range that we have here probably is within reach to allow the project to proceed.”
He said the city on April 2 opened the three bids it received for the project. Wellen’s Farwell Construction of Enterprise, Ore., was the low bidder, submitting a base bid of $7,278,000. Belknap said the next lowest bidder was $7.7 million and the third was $11.4 million.
City officials are still analyzing the bids and Belknap said he anticipates taking a recommendation to the Moscow City Council on May 4.
If the council awards a contract, he said construction would likely start in May or June and take about one year to complete.
The base bid includes the bulk of the project, which consists of the 15,232-square-foot main facility and 3,043-square-foot outbuilding. Ten additional amenities or building enhancements are not included in the base bid but will be considered by city staff and the council.
Two of the 10 potential add-ons are bulletproof glass in the lobby and solar panels. Two alternatives would lower the cost of the project. Those include changing one of the secured gates to a cheaper gate and switching the finish of some of the building’s masonry to a lower quality finish. None of the alternatives impact the core elements the facility needs, Belknap said.
City Councilor Art Bettge said he believes the $7.3 million low base bid will work and some of the additions could likely be inserted into the project as well.
“I think that because the voters passed it with assurances that we’d try to go for sustainability. I would prefer the alternates that reflect sustainable construction,” Bettge said.
Bettge said he thinks enough money will remain to fund the other two projects planned under the $10 million general obligation bond Moscow voters passed in May. Those projects include remodeling the existing police station to accommodate other city office needs — which was initially expected to cost $1.5 million — and remodeling the Paul Mann Building next to Moscow City Hall, with an initial estimate of $132,043.
Assuming the construction of the new police station moves forward this year and is completed on time, Belknap said the remodel of the existing police station would happen in the summer or fall of 2021 and take three to four months to complete.
Once the existing police facility is renovated, city staff in the Paul Mann Building would relocate to the existing police facility so work on the Paul Mann Building could start. Belknap said the Paul Mann Building will be a quick project because it primarily requires external work to the structure.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.
