Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Facility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council delays decision on ballistic panels for public safety building, requests three cost options
Summary
Councilors deferred a proposed $18,866 change order to add ballistic sheathing at the city’s new public safety building and directed staff to obtain three separate cost estimates and design visuals.
The Josephine City Council deferred a vote on a proposed change order to add ballistic sheathing at the new public safety building and asked staff to return with additional estimates and drawings.
The change order presented would add ballistic panels to several office spaces at an estimated cost of $18,866, to be paid from the project owner’s contingency fund. Project manager Ethel Hudgins (AGCM) and staff described the scope and the contingency funding option; council members and the police chief debated whether the added panels were necessary given portions of the structure are poured concrete with rebar.
Multiple council members and departmental representatives questioned the proposed partial approach—panels on selected interior offices only—arguing either the whole building should be protected or the funds should be directed elsewhere (for example, vehicle upfits that would protect officers in the field). Chief Graham and other public-safety voices described which offices currently have ballistic protection and noted other portions of the building had no ballistic sheathing.
After discussion the council asked staff to obtain three separate cost estimates and return with visuals: (1) the current proposal as presented, (2) an estimate to protect the entire building, and (3) an estimate limited to the patio/back area and associated exterior soft targets. The council also asked that those cost options be presented at the next public hearing and that certain security details and placement information be discussed in a non-public session as appropriate. The motion to request the additional quotes and delay the change order carried unanimously (5–0).
Quotes and next steps - Cost shown in the meeting packet for the discussed change order: $18,866 to be paid from owner’s contingency. - Council directed staff to provide three cost options and drawings and to distribute the information to council prior to the next public hearing. - Council emphasized balanced consideration of interior office protection, exterior/perimeter vulnerabilities (patio/gym area), and alternative uses of contingency funds.
Speakers who contributed substantive remarks on this topic included Ethel Hudgins (project manager, AGCM), Chief Graham (Josephine Police Department), Assistant City Administrator Kirk Peters (recognized earlier in the meeting), and several councilmembers (Alex Esquivel, Brad Alfinger, Doug Ewing, Pam Sardo, Gary Chapel). The motion to obtain additional quotes and return with visuals, and to discuss in follow-up sessions, passed 5–0.
The council also asked the project manager to provide specific window, wall and entry-point details to inform whether partial paneling or whole-building protection is the better investment.
