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Council approves $1.08 million of bond premium for Civic Center seismic project upgrades, including permanent generator
Summary
After a staff update on the Civic Center seismic and building-improvement project, the council approved using $1,075,540 in bond premium to pay additional project expenses including a permanent emergency generator, more spacious customer-facing lobbies and other alternates required by code or to improve public service areas.
The Salem City Council voted to use $1,075,540 of bond premium to cover additional expenses for the Civic Center seismic and building improvement project. Staff described a progressive design-build delivery that yielded a list of alternates and pending items totaling about $3.9 million; the council approved applying part of the bond premium to address high-priority items.
Project overview and staff recommendations Assistant City Engineer Aaron Kimsey and Chief Financial Officer Josh Eggleston presented the project goals and budget context. The bond program’s scheduled bond sales and prior bond premium were described; Eggleston explained bond premium and interest earnings carry the same restrictions as the issued bonds. Kimsey said the design effort produced roughly 71 alternates totaling about $7 million; about $3 million of alternates were rejected for budget reasons, $200,000 accepted, and about $3.9 million remained pending. Staff recommended using bond premium to cover critical items that would otherwise be too late in construction to add, including code-required items and customer-facing improvements.
Specific items described - Code-required items and life-safety: a permanent emergency generator to replace the current temporary generator (staff noted the temporary generator is currently in the understory garage and needs permanent outdoor placement). - Customer-facing improvements: an enlarged court lobby, a revised customer-service counter to standardize public service points, storefront-door infill to simplify public navigation, wayfinding and signage. - Opportunity-cost items: rough-ins for future conference rooms and office adjacencies and hoteling stations to support modern workplace configurations.
Council action Councilor Nishioka moved to approve use of $1,075,540 in bond premium for Civic Center project expenses; the motion passed on recorded roll call. Staff said contractor and designer will hold pending alternates and that future cost savings could allow additional alternates to be added.
Why it matters The approved allocation covers items staff said are either code-required or would substantially improve the public’s experience and the building’s long-term functionality. Staff characterized doing the work now as more cost-effective than retrofitting later when the building is occupied.
Next steps Staff will incorporate the approved alternates into the design-build contract and proceed with construction; pending alternates remain on hold pending any realized cost savings or further council direction.
