At its May 14 meeting, the Nevada City Council started bid letting on the City Hall/Public Safety Facility. Bids must be received by June 19 and the city will hold a public hearing on June 25 to award contracts.
At that meeting, the council also approved the purchase of an additional 20 feet of property from Paul and Georgia Ackerman. City engineer Neil Guess said that additional south 20 feet of Lot Four, Block G would enhance the project, allowing room for landscaping.
In recent weeks, prep-work has been done on the site. That work includes removing trees in the right of way on the property and a utility improvement project. The city purchased the Main Street Bar & Grill building last June. It has undergone asbestos removal. By sunset Monday night, very little remained of the building.
Nevada Mayor Jerry Gull said the utility update was necessary, even if the city hadn't moved forward with the building project. At a special meeting on May 1, the council approved a bid for the city hall utility improvement project. Bid letting was due on April 26 and the city received bids from four companies. The project was awarded to Ames Trenching & Excavating Inc. for $117,230.
The City Hall/Public Safety Complex project is a culmination of discussions the past two years. The existing building, which is over 60 years old, has seen better days. City staff and the police department have begun to outgrow the facility.
"One of the things we have heard, more than negative or general comments, is if you are going to build city hall, keep it downtown," Gull said. "The city felt it was imperative, if this (new facility) was an investment to be made, to show a commitment to a much broader, long-term goal of helping grow our downtown."
A committee of city staff, Howard R. Green Company employees and city councilmen Brian Hanson and Gary Makovec reviewed the project plans. The committee held several discussions throughout the design phase.
Gull said the design is "reflective of the downtown district, with characteristics reminiscent of a lot of the buildings and reflective of the charm and character we want to purvey to enhance the overall experience of those who visit Nevada."
The council approved the basic design concept for the facility at the end of November. The new facility will be a one-story building with a full basement. The total area of the building will be 31,965 square feet. Project engineers have estimated the cost of the project at $5.7 million with a 10 percent contingency.
The project will be funded through Tax Increment Financing dollars. The city's bond counsel has cleared the project. Gull said funding the new facility falls under the current umbrella of acceptable uses for TIF money.
The facility, which will house city staff and the Nevada Police Department, will sit at the back of the city's property, facing Sixth Street. At one point, the city had entered into a discussion with the owner of Minsky's Pizza & Lounge. The city was interested in purchasing that property, but was unable to reach an agreement. Minksy's is located directly south of the current city hall and will remain at that location.
Even though the Nevada Fire Chief's office will be located in the new facility, the fire station will stay at its current location. Last June the City Council added a new fire station to the design study. That design would have expanded the public safety portion of the building to include a building to house the fire and EMS department. The current fire station is 30 years old and will need substantial upgrades and renovations in the near future. At the time, Gull said the council felt "obligated to see if a fire station could be realistically incorporated into the plans."
Eventually, those proposed plans were removed from the overall site plan.
"Essentially, we have other unresolved issues that we are associated with at this time. These issues were delaying progress and we felt it was pertinent and prudent to move forward with the project," Gull said.
During construction, city staff will stay in the current city hall. City Administrator Dave Haugland said after the new building is complete, they will move staff and demolish the old building.
The anticipated completion date of the new facility is August 2008. Haugland said entire project should be complete, including asbestos removal and demolition of the current city hall, by October 2008.
The city has conceptual designs and plans available for public viewing at City Hall and on their Web site. If you would like to view the current plans, contact City Hall at 382-5466.
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