Rexburg council advances police facility bond to May ballot and hires outreach consultant

Rexburg City Council members voted Feb. 4 to move forward with an ordinance to place a police facility bond on the May ballot and to hire an outside consultant to handle public education for the measure.

CFO Matt Nielsen told the council the revised proposal trims the project scope from the prior plan and reduces the bond ask to about $14,995,000 compared with an earlier $16.75 million figure. He said removing unfinished interior space cut the construction estimate to roughly $7,700,000 and that, when added to interest, the change yields an estimated savings of about $3,229,000 compared with the prior ask. Nielsen also outlined the procedural steps: first reading was held Feb. 4, with two further readings available for changes before placement on the ballot.

“Part of the survey was looking at reducing the cost or the scope,” Nielsen said as he described the changes to the project and schedule.

Council members pressed staff on deliverables and pricing for outreach. The council discussed whether the city’s communications staff could handle some work in-house and whether consultant deliverables overlapped with prior survey work. Matt Nielsen said the consultant’s proposal was stated in the meeting record as "not to exceed 19.09" and recommended an overall outreach budget of $25,000 to cover consultant fees plus mailer and printing costs, to be paid from the police facility savings fund.

Council member Colin Erickson, who moved to hire the consultant, said the spending would be modest relative to the project’s scale: “We’re talking about an $18,000,000 project here,” he said, arguing professional outreach could improve the measure’s chance of passage.

The council voted by voice to proceed with the ordinance first reading and later approved a motion to hire Portman Square to assist with public education and messaging, directing staff to negotiate scope and price where possible.

Next steps: the council completed the first reading of the bond ordinance Feb. 4; staff will return for subsequent readings if modifications are proposed and will proceed with contracting for outreach as directed.