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Council defers schematic-design contract for city hall/justice-center amid funding questions
Summary
Councilors debated whether to approve up to $104,200 for schematic architectural work for a combined city hall and justice-center project. Several councilors urged waiting for clarity about foundation funding and bonding steps; the item remained at second reading.
Councilors at the Jan. 27 legislative session debated advancing schematic-design work for a planned city hall and justice-center project but chose to keep the item at second reading so funding, bond counsel and project sequencing can be clarified.
The item, Ordinance 2-2025, would have authorized the mayor to contract with Haas & Stop Architects (listed in the packet as a schematic-design consultant) for up to $104,200 for architectural schematic-design services. The ordinance reached a second reading on Jan. 27 but did not receive a final vote.
Why council held the item
Councilors who opposed immediate adoption said the city should finalize the capital-funding strategy — including a pending Barberton Community Foundation grant and bond-counsel steps — before committing to schematic work. Councilor Rebecca Gerhardt said she viewed the $100,000 foundation money and schematic design as separate steps and cautioned the council against starting detailed drawings before the project ask to the foundation and council discussion on the overall project budget.
Mayor's comments and staff timeline
The mayor told council he had been working with the foundation and with bond-financing advisors; staff and the mayor characterized schematic design as a step that keeps the larger project moving. Michael Tiedecki, a city director involved in the project, estimated a “speedy approach” to produce schematic drawings could take about three to five months because of stakeholder meetings and programing the building to user needs.
Law director and operational concerns
Law Director Lisa Miller (listed as law director in the meeting) and other councilors stressed the need for more detailed user-level conversations (for example, how the judge and court flows will operate and where secure egress, sally-ports and elevators would be placed) before the plans progress beyond schematic stage. Miller said portions of schematic work had been done in prior reviews, but key operational conversations remained outstanding.
Next steps
Councilors agreed to keep the matter at second reading to allow time for: consolidating the funding stack (foundation grant, bond counsel and other sources); completing term-sheet discussions; and providing more detailed information to council on project phasing and cumulative cost estimates. Several members said they did not object to the schematic work in principle but wanted fuller budget clarity beforehand.
