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Architects present options: new public‑safety building or phased city‑hall solution estimated $4M–$15M
Summary
Port City Architecture presented three options for Gardiner’s municipal facilities, with cost ranges from roughly $4 million for a new city hall to about $15 million for a turnkey public‑safety building.
Gardiner — Port City Architecture presented a multi‑year facilities study that lays out options, estimated square footage and preliminary cost ranges for Gardiner’s public-safety, city-hall and public-works needs.
Principal Andy Hyland told the council the study team estimated roughly 28,000 square feet would be needed to house modern police and fire services and that a turnkey new public‑safety building of that scale could cost approximately $15 million. Public works was estimated at 26,000–27,000 square feet and the consultant estimated a stand‑alone new city‑hall on a vacant site could be delivered for a little over $4 million. Hyland stressed site constraints in Gardiner — wetlands, steep topography, and limited parcels — that made some candidate locations impractical.
The firm presented three approaches: (1) build a new public‑safety facility on a new site (the "clean" but more expensive option), (2) relocate police and fire to a new facility and renovate the existing building in phases, or (3) build a new, smaller city hall now (lower near‑term cost) and defer or phase public‑safety and public‑works projects. Hyland said option 3 might be the most economical path in the near term but would create constricted site conditions for police and limit secure vehicle yards unless additional work is done during a later phase.
Councilors raised operational concerns: current bays may be too small for future apparatus, specialized equipment and OSHA/decontamination needs for firefighter health. Councilor Tim Cusick and others said they would prefer to "do it right" if funding allowed; Hyland noted the tension between the lowest‑cost short‑term approach and the cleaner long‑term solution of an off‑site public‑safety building.
The presentation did not obligate the council to a particular course but created a record of space needs, site options and rough cost magnitudes to guide future capital planning and budgeting.
