Kansas City Council Eyes Max Cost of New Police Station

GREAT BEND, Kansas -- After years of preparation and discussion, the construction of the planned new Great Bend Police Station and Municipal Court Building could begin by the middle of next month.

The bid deadline was this past Monday morning for facility. Wichita construction firm McCown-Gordan, hired by the city last December as the project manager, reviewed them and met with city officials Thursday.

The result of that meeting was a proposed guaranteed maximum price the 20,000-square-foot facility to sit at 12th and Baker on what is now a city parking lot. That recommendation will be on the agenda when the City Council gathers Monday night.

The proposed GMP for the facility comes to $7,790,591, according to the agenda briefing sheet provided by city officials Friday. This covers the construction of the building only.

Here are some of the details:

The city received 96 total bids, across all trades. There were also four alternates to the bids.
The city administration will recommend two — the addition of $16,434 for a monument sign and the addition of $187,903 for site security and fencing.
Additional project costs include $498,500 for the architect (which has already been budgeted) and $420,000 for furnishings, fixtures information technology equipment provided by the city.
This brings the total cost to $8,883,273. That includes $518,091 in contingencies.
That cost exceeds current available revenues by $902,667.

To make up the difference, the city administration will recommend using: $677,765 in state COVID-19 relief Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) funds; $214,902 insurance proceeds; and $10,000 in interest from federal COVID relief American Rescue Plan Act (CARES) payments.

If approved, construction should start by mid to late September. It should be completed in about 11 months.

Mitch Binns and Alan Youngers with McCown-Gordan, and Paul Michele from GLMV are expected to attend the meeting to answer questions.

Background

In February, the council approved the conceptual design and budget estimates for the structure. As presented then, the total cost came to $8,083,387, higher than the project budget of $7,699,557.

A .10% city sales tax to help pay off the project bonds was approved in the Nov. 2, 2021, general election. The tax-supported bond issue is expected to bring in $5,638,557.47 and that is being paired with $2,061,000 in city reserves to pay for the new facility.

The city is also tapping about $1.5 million set aside for the project.

The overall plan includes the Police Department and the Municipal Court, as well parking for staff and the public. The city hired GLMV Architects of Wichita last August for the design work.

The final plan drawings for the building were finished in December.

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