The Newport City Council approved hiring Smelter architectural firm to design a new police department and an animal-control facility on a recently acquired parcel (Ryan property) on Cope Boulevard.

City Administrator James Fincher said the city is in the process of purchasing approximately eight acres of property (six acres intended for construction) and expects design and construction to be a two-year effort. The selection of Smelter’s firm was based on a prior working relationship: the firm previously worked on Newport police department remodeling and is currently leading similar municipal projects in nearby jurisdictions.

Council members approved the recommendation despite architects and engineers not being subject to a formal bid law; the administration presented the decision for council confirmation to keep auditors and the public record informed. The city aims to keep the design within a constrained budget; Fincher noted a target near $5 million for the police project, while pointing out larger projects in neighboring jurisdictions exceed that amount.

On the animal-control side, council discussion confirmed the shelter will be a joint effort with Cocke County and is intended to be funded in part from an estate bequest left by a local donor (referred to in the meeting as Miss Mulvey). Fincher said the donor left one million dollars total: $500,000 to the city, $500,000 to the county and $500,000 to the local humane society; the city’s portion is being received in $100,000 annual installments. The city has already received two installments totaling $200,000 and will receive another $100,000 at the end of the fiscal year. The administration said the plan is to build a roughly $1,000,000 shelter; because the bequest is paid over time, the city expects to finance construction up front and recover the donor proceeds over subsequent years.

No specific design scope, contract amount for architectural services, or final construction budget was included in the meeting materials; administration staff said they would bring the services agreement and scope to the council for approval and to satisfy audit documentation requirements.

Council approved the architect hire by motion; staff will proceed with a professional-services agreement and next-phase design work.