Cross Plains reviews village hall and police facility designs; narrows options and schedules public input

Architects and village staff presented a site plan, three exterior design concepts and preliminary cost and financing estimates for a proposed Village of Cross Plains village hall and police facility during the board meeting on Jan. 13.

The presentation, led by Matt Bickel of Wold, reviewed site constraints and amenities, a roughly 17,275-square-foot building footprint, space for up to about 64 parking stalls, a trailhead shelter with public toilets and a roof area sized to accommodate future solar panels. “We’re looking at a building construction cost of about just over $6,000,000,” Bickel said, and the consultant team later provided a broader estimate that put total project costs at about $7.7 million, including sitework, contingency and soft costs.

The board heard three exterior concepts that use varying mixes of stone, brick and metal paneling. Concept A emphasizes natural stone with brick accents; B increases metal paneling as an accent; C applies more metal on the community-room massing and uses a darker brick alternative. Trustees and planning-group members favored narrowing the public presentation to two exterior options (A and C) and a reduced set of interior options to simplify community feedback.

Why it matters: the existing village hall has accessibility, security and flooding problems noted in earlier studies; the new facility would consolidate village hall and police operations, add a community room intended for meetings and limited public use, and create new public amenities tied to the adjacent trail.

Site and technical details: the team said geotechnical test pits and an archaeological study (required for USDA funding) found no concerns. The property grades down to the north, producing a one-story street elevation and a two-story rear elevation; the plan shows roughly 29 front parking stalls for day-to-day public use and the remainder in a rear lot for staff and overflow. Staff reported an existing stormwater detention basin at the north end sized to serve the new building.

Interior and operations: the community room is shown as a flexible meeting space, supported by storage that will include election materials; the design separates public circulation from secure police areas, and includes an elevator and a basement level that staff said is not intended for general public access. The police program includes an interview/secure area with dual access for police operations. Trustees discussed finish materials, an accent wall behind the board dais, and whether the dais configuration should be more curved to improve sight lines.

Sustainability and systems: the design identifies a maximum roof area for solar panels; the team said full photovoltaic installation may be phased depending on budget and financing. Geothermal systems were discussed but not advanced; presenters said geothermal has higher initial costs (the team estimated a rough additional cost in the low six figures) and a typical payback period in the roughly 10–15 year range, but that the village could explore federal credits.

Costs and financing: the consultants estimated construction at about $350 per square foot. The construction-line estimate cited in the presentation was roughly $7,172,340 and total project cost about $7.7 million after site work and soft costs. Staff said the village is preapproved for a USDA Rural Development loan of $5,000,000 and discussed structuring additional borrowing to cover remaining needs. The finance advisory committee presented a preliminary debt-service scenario combining a 40-year USDA loan at about 4.125% and a secondary borrowing; staff said that, under one scenario presented, added debt service could be on the order of about $63,000 per year. The board discussed grant opportunities (including Department of Justice COPS grants, state programs and the federal Inflation Reduction incentives for energy projects) and directed staff to pursue outside funding to reduce net costs.

Community engagement and schedule: staff proposed village-hall tours before the February meeting (tours 5–6 p.m. was suggested) and a public community presentation on Tuesday, March 4, with select exterior and interior options presented for public comment. Staff said they would display the options after the meeting through the following Friday, let residents vote on choices and collect written comments for the design team to consider. The design team sketched an eight-week window to finish construction documents after approvals and anticipated bidding this summer with construction potentially starting in the fall depending on scheduling and bidder availability.

Board action: at the end of the meeting trustees moved and seconded a motion to go into closed session; the motion passed in a roll call vote. Trustees acknowledged that planning committee members Becky and Tony and architect Matt Bickel would remain as subject-matter attendees for the closed session. The board did not record a formal design approval at this meeting; staff said they expect to return for formal action at an upcoming meeting (the board discussed scheduling follow-up and a normal meeting on Jan. 27 was referenced).

Next steps: staff will refine cost estimates and financing scenarios, narrow the options for public presentation (staff indicated they planned to present two exterior alternatives and a small set of interior options), host tours in February and hold the community update on March 4. The village will continue to pursue USDA loan documentation and grant opportunities to reduce the reliance on local debt.