Albert Lea City Council approves plans for City Center 25-03 security and office remodel

The Albert Lea City Council on Monday approved a resolution ordering plans for City Center 25-03, a City Hall security and office remodel, and authorized staff to finalize design documents and seek bids.

The resolution, moved by Councilor Adam Baker and seconded by Councilor Anderson, passed on a roll-call vote of 6-0. Mayor Murray and councilors Christiansen, Baker, Holland, Van Beek and Anderson voted aye; the motion carried.

The council action authorizes the next step in the project: completing construction designs and putting the work out to bid. City Manager Ian and staff emphasized that final contract awards and any borrowing or bond issuance will return to the council for a later vote.

Wayne Sorensen, who presented the building committee report, said the project focuses on the First and Third floors of City Hall and on security improvements. “That long center hallway down the middle of two sets of offices is about the worst security setup you can have,” Sorensen said, describing plans to remove portions of the central hall to eliminate a so-called “fatal funnel,” add observation windows, and install a new citywide key-card access system that would include the library area.

Sorensen summarized architects’ cost estimates and phasing options. The architects’ materials presented to the council show components including exterior window maintenance, a new key-card system and exterior lighting with an architect’s subtotal of about $285,000 for those items; additional renovation and design costs raised component estimates for lower- and upper-level work. The presentation listed a combined full-project estimate of approximately $3,024,000 if bid and built all at once, and about $151,000 higher if the work is phased with the upper level delayed three years. Sorensen also reported an architect-estimated design and contingency subtotal of roughly $793,336.50 for portions of the work and cited a $594,175 figure for the upper-level portion in one slide.

City Manager Ian told the council that design engineering is estimated at about 10% of project cost (roughly $140,000 by the architect’s math) and that an initial amount to finalize construction documents and prepare bidding would likely be about half of that (approximately $70,000). The city manager said the project will require bond financing and that staff has worked to adjust the capital plan to limit the bond impact on other projects.

Council discussion emphasized security and employee needs. Councilor Holland said the building “is not secure” and called employee restrooms, a break room and basic maintenance priorities rather than optional upgrades. Councilor Baker and Councilor Anderson said the building committee met multiple times, reviewed needs versus wants, and supported moving forward to design and bidding. Councilors asked staff to bid the work so contractors may submit three options: lower level only, upper level only, or the full project, to give clearer cost comparisons.

The resolution authorizes design and bidding only; councilors noted that awarding construction contracts and issuing bonds will require future council approval after bids are received. Staff also raised a financing consideration: current city interest rates (noted as roughly 3.5%) compared with estimated construction costs (noted as greater than 7%), which affects whether phasing or a single bid package is most economical.

The vote concludes the agenda item; staff will return to the council with finalized design costs and bid results before any award or bond issuance.