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Council approves construction contract authorization for new police facility; members press for grant/bond certainty
Summary
Council approved a resolution to proceed with contractor selection and a gross-maximum price for a new police station, with sponsors noting a USDA/US Treasury funding process and a contingency cap; members asked for assurances about grant commitments and discussed alternate lower-cost building options if federal funds fell through.
London City Council voted to authorize construction contracting steps for a new police building and approved a resolution that includes a not-to-exceed project budget to allow the city to move forward with bidding and a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) once design and estimates are finalized.
Sponsor Councilman Andrew Hitt and city staff told council the city has applied for significant grant/bond funding and that the current construction estimate is about $9.18 million; the resolution the council approved included a not-to-exceed figure in the $9.3 million range to provide a negotiation buffer and to encompass contingencies. City staff said the package includes allowances for contingencies and architectural fees and that the administration has already advanced some preliminary procurement steps.
Safety-service staff and the city's project manager said the city expects USDA/treasury-related funding to be committed soon and that efforts are underway to expedite remaining compliance documents. Council members asked what would happen if grant funds were not delivered; staff said, per prior counsel work, the project could be scaled back to a smaller building with roughly $4.09 million in local debt rather than the full $9 million project if necessary.
The resolution included an emergency clause so procurement steps could begin promptly; council members then suspended the three-reading rule and adopted the resolution by roll call. Sponsors said Alfred (project/construction lead) is preparing a gross-maximum-price proposal that will be submitted to USDA as part of the funding process.
Why it matters: the project is the largest capital expenditure discussed at the meeting and depends on external grant/bond approvals; council and staff stressed the need to move quickly to secure pricing and to satisfy federal drawdown requirements.
Next steps: city staff will finalize the GMP and forward required documents to USDA/treasury for loan/grant commitment; the council asked administration to keep members informed of funding confirmations and to return if any financing assumptions change.
