Holtville approves roughly $15,000 increase for public safety building design
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Summary
Holtville City Council approved a roughly $14,964 increase to the design contract for a new public safety building after staff said the planned facility grew from about 8,000 to nearly 11,700 square feet and crossed a state permitting threshold.
Holtville City Council voted to approve an additional $14,964 to the design contract for the city’s new public safety building after staff said the project’s footprint grew and triggered extra state review.
City Manager said the building originally was estimated at just over 8,000 square feet but, after the city gathered all departmental needs, the final design approach grew to about 11,700 square feet — roughly 45% larger than the original figure — and that crossing the 10,000-square-foot mark required added permitting and design work. "That comes to $14,964, which was reported to be about $14,000, but expect to be about $15,000 to me," the City Manager said during the meeting.
The increase stems from two factors outlined by staff: added design hours to accommodate the larger program and additional oversight tied to state permitting at projects above the roughly 10,000-square-foot threshold. Staff also told council that some systems (electrical, plumbing and permitting reviews) required extra design effort rather than simply scaling up existing plans.
During council discussion, one member raised concerns about timing and contractor performance. "Our architect is one year late, and now he wants to charge us $15,000 more. Usually when you're late, you shouldn't come asking for more money," Councilmember Murray Anderson said. Other council members and staff argued the additional work was necessary to avoid downstream delays in permitting and construction.
Council then voted on the augmentation. The roll call recorded John Munger absent; Councilmember Mike Pacheco — yes; Councilmember Murray Anderson — no; Councilmember Vanessa Ramirez — yes; Councilmember Mike Goodsell — yes. The request passed.
Staff said the plans have returned from plan check to the architect for revisions and that those revisions are expected back within a few weeks, after which the city expects to finalize plan check and proceed to the next phase of the project.
The council’s action authorizes the design-pay augmentation only; no construction contract was awarded at the meeting and staff said additional approvals and permitting steps remain.