Lake Stevens approves Faber Construction for civic campus project and adopts $4.8 million construction budget

The Lake Stevens City Council voted to award the civic campus construction contract to Faber Construction and adopted a working construction budget of $4,795,955, council action that clears the way for construction planning to begin.

Russ Wright, the city's community development director, told the council the city received eight bids for the civic campus project and that the low, responsive bid and reference checks supported recommending Faber Construction. Wright said the staff recommendation also included adoption of a working construction budget of about $4.8 million; additional costs such as contingency and alternates will be managed as the project advances and a budget amendment will redirect previously budgeted funds to the construction phase.

Wright said staff reviewed the base construction cost line-by-line and identified contingency and alternate items, and reminded the council that some revenue sources are shared between the civic campus and the museum, which requires careful tracking as the budget moves forward. "We've done some reference checks, and we've looked at their project that they did in Whatcom County that is very similar to this," Wright said, urging the council to approve both the contractor selection and the working budget so procurement and preconstruction work can begin.

A council member moved to approve Faber Construction as the selected contractor and the motion passed by voice vote. A second motion to adopt the construction budget not to exceed $4,795,955 also passed; council members acknowledged the need for a subsequent budget amendment to redirect funds to the appropriate line items.

Next steps include finalizing the contract with Faber Construction, assembling a working construction budget and contingency plan, and returning to council with the formal budget amendment and any contract adjustments required as the project proceeds.