Council approves emergency hiring of independent cost estimator for safety service complex

Council considered Ordinance O-25-26 on an emergency basis to authorize the mayor to enter into a contract with Construction Consulting and Estimating LLC to act as an independent cost estimator for the new safety service complex. Proponents said the firm would review architectural design and help ensure the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) is reasonable; council voted first on the emergency designation and then on the ordinance itself, recording affirmative roll-call responses for both.

"That means that we're far enough along in the design phase of the project that we need a company to come in and review architectural design, everything leading into the GMP," Speaker 7 said while explaining the reason for the emergency. "They're going to ... protect the city by reviewing all this information for us to make sure we're getting what we need out of the safety service project and that it's delivered on time and under budget." The emergency designation and the ordinance carried on roll-call votes with affirmative responses from members present.