Springfield council reviews City Hall modernization update, debates CMGC procurement

Jeff Pascal, presenting to the Springfield City Council at a work session, said staff sought confirmation to advance the City Hall deferred maintenance and modernization project into a final pre-construction phase with a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) partner, and emphasized "this is not a request to approve construction or funding for construction tonight."

The project team reported the design is about 75% complete, with work focused on mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Pascal said the project is aimed at addressing deferred maintenance, remedying safety deficiencies, improving operational efficiency and preserving a more-than-50-year-old public facility, and that staff will return later with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP), funding strategy and construction recommendations.

Several council members pressed staff on procurement and local-business impacts. Councilor Buck reiterated he voted against using the alternative CMGC approach in December, telling colleagues that "a guaranteed maximum is great in theory until there's change orders," and warned that the CMGC path could leave the city without a direct price comparison to local contractors.

Other council members asked how local firms had been considered. Staff said the CMGC was procured by a request-for-proposals process in which cost and technical factors (experience, pre-construction approach, fee and communications) were scored. The project team listed local firms that submitted proposals, including Anderson, Essex, Chambers and Bridgeway, and said the scoring panel included Jeff Pascal, Mike Espinosa, Jamie Boa and Mark Vanick.

The city attorney explained the CMGC approach and procurement options: the city pays for contractor expertise during pre-construction to improve constructibility and lower change-order risk, and the GMP provides a checkpoint allowing the council to accept the GMP or, if not satisfied, require a later sealed bid process. The attorney also noted a protest of the solicitation was filed and that the city must follow Oregon public contracting law and prevailing-wage requirements, which limit the city's ability to apply sublocal (city-limits-only) preferences. As the attorney put it, the city is "bound by Oregon law and Oregon public contracting code," and staff said the protest will be addressed according to procurement rules before any award becomes final.

Councilors also asked about project scope priorities and contingency planning. Staff said the larger deferred-maintenance list is about $31 million; they identified elevators and core mechanical systems as critical needs and said addressing the major mechanical, electrical and plumbing features should free up limited annual maintenance funds currently used for recurring repairs. Staff stressed that involving a contractor during final design helps plan phasing and maintain continuity of service for public-facing functions during construction.

No formal decision was taken on moving into pre-construction at the work session. Staff will continue pre-construction activities as directed by the council’s earlier authorization of the CMGC procurement process and will return with a GMP, cost validation, phasing and funding recommendations for a future council decision. The work session was then adjourned and staff prepared to reconvene on a new meeting link.