Council authorizes construction contracting for new police facility with cap near $9.3 million

The London City Council on March 19 adopted Resolution 133-25 authorizing the safety-service director to enter into contracts for construction and related services for a new police facility.

Council members and staff discussed project financing at length. City staff said the project budget is being funded in part by bond proceeds and federal grant money; staff reported that $5,025,000 in grant money had been expected but had not yet been delivered at the time of the meeting. The staff briefing noted projected overall contract amounts near $9.18–9.3 million and that program contingencies were included; the resolution adopted an authorization not to exceed $9,300,000 so work could proceed. "Their estimate is like 9.18... I cushioned it by a hundred thousand," a council speaker said while explaining the cap.

Council members asked what would happen if promised grant funds were rescinded. Staff said that, during earlier contract discussions and counsel with bond counsel, the city had options to scale back the building to a lower-cost alternative (roughly $4.09 million in one described scenario) rather than cancel the project entirely.

Council adopted the resolution with an emergency clause so contracting could proceed. Staff said they had already engaged a construction manager (the transcript references an entity named Alfred/Alfredo or similar) to prepare a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and that the city would move quickly to complete contracting and submit documents to USDA/Treasury as required for grant draws.

The resolution passed by roll call at the March 19 meeting, and staff were authorized to proceed with contract advertising and procurement steps consistent with the adopted cap and the funding timeline described in staff remarks.