City staff briefs committee on early-stage fire station design study; $3M in bond proceeds noted

City staff told the Finance Committee on April 7 that the city has about $3 million set aside from prior bond proceeds and is beginning the process to commission a design study and concept work for a new fire station.

A city speaker described the $3 million as funds that the council previously allocated toward a project but said the larger redevelopment concept that had been considered "doesn't look like it's going to move forward." The speaker said the city needs to show progress toward spending bond money to avoid potential penalties or interest charges tied to the bond agreement.

Staff outlined the procurement approach for design services: a qualifications-based selection (request for qualifications or proposals) for architects/engineers, with design fees likely structured as a percentage of total project cost. As an example, staff used a typical municipal format: if a project budget is $10 million, a 6% design fee would be about $600,000.

Committee members had no substantive vote of approval at the meeting; one member moved to drop the item for now and the committee carried the motion. Staff said this was an initial notification to engage the council as the design process gets started and that more concrete recommendations and budget requests would follow in the next budget cycle when the city seeks formal design authorization.

No procurement contract was approved at the committee meeting; staff said they expect to proceed through a formal procurement process and to include fire administration in consultant selection and design planning.