Commission approves $1.728 million addition to RDG design agreement for downtown city-hall campus; staff cites $5 million in cost avoidance

The Dothan City Commission on Jan. 7 approved a $1,728,000 increase in the service order with RDG Planning & Design for the Dublin City Hall campus project, bringing the total not-to-exceed design fee to $6,423,664.

Bridal Love, general services director, told the commission the project team refined concepts and discovered that building a new annex would be less expensive than renovating the existing structure. Love said the additional $1.7 million covers further design work for the annex, additional site design, and fees associated with earlier work on the original building that led to a change in approach. Love said the city expects about $5 million in cost avoidance by choosing new construction over renovating the existing structure.

Love said the work will complete design for both the main building and the annex and will carry the project through the construction phase. Commissioners asked whether consolidating departments under one roof had been considered; staff said that option would have been more expensive.

Why it matters

Modifying the design contract moves the project from concept toward construction and increases the city's committed design costs. Staff presented an economic justification — a comparison of renovation versus rebuild — that they said supports the added fee and long-term savings.

What happens next

Staff indicated the additional services will proceed and that the design will continue toward construction documents; the commission approved the modification by voice vote.