Council conditionally approves contract to build Recovery Cafe commercial kitchen pending landlord sign-off

The Poulsbo City Council voted Oct. 1 to approve a construction contract to build a commercial kitchen for the North Kitsap Recovery Cafe, contingent on receiving the landlord’s written approval of tenant improvements.

Public Works presented a project that would convert roughly 311 square feet of unused office space into a commercial kitchen to allow food preparation and volunteer engagement on-site. Summer, a Recovery Cafe representative, explained the program has been operating since February with food prepared off-site and partnered church volunteers; an on-site kitchen would let members participate in cooking, dishwashing and other volunteer roles.

Engineering said bids were opened Sept. 19; the low responsive bidder was Capital Industrial (bid approximately $76,600). The project budget presented to council included a construction contract of $76,603.31, a contingency, permitting and direct equipment purchases for a total package of about $95,000. Funding sources cited included $35,000 from a Health Care Authority grant plus professional services funds already allocated to the project.

Councilmembers raised lease-related questions before final approval. City staff and Rob Gilder, city administrator, reviewed the lease language in the meeting: the lease requires the tenant to return the premises in the same condition at lease end unless landlord consents to altered condition. Councilmembers asked whether tenant improvements would become the landlord’s property and whether the city could be required to remove work at lease termination. City staff said the current lease runs to 2031 with three two-year extension options, potentially to 2037, and that staff would seek written landlord consent to avoid a future obligation to remove installed equipment.

Public Works Director Diane Linnaeus and Rob Gilder told council staff would confirm with the owner that the improvements may remain at lease end. On that assurance being in writing, council approved the Capital Industrial contract and authorized the mayor to execute the contract and change orders up to 10% of the contract value.

Why this matters: the kitchen is intended to increase volunteer engagement and reduce staff time spent transporting and preparing donated food, and it is partially funded by a grant that expires in December. Council conditioned the award on written landlord approval to protect the city’s investment in tenant improvements.

Clarifying details: the project area is about 311 square feet; the contractor low bid was approximately $76,600; total project funding needs were presented as $95,000 including contingency, permitting and equipment; the grant identified was $35,000 from the Health Care Authority. Staff named Capital Industrial as the low bidder and Charlie Roberts as the project lead; Summer and designer Josh (Josh Raines) participated in planning.

Next steps: staff to obtain the landlord’s written consent for tenant improvements and proceed to finalize the contract and schedule work.