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 Earlier this year, the Council approved taking the first step to
building new facilities for the fire and police departments by
hiring FGM to study the needs for each department and what could be
available in the city to accommodate those needs.
The firm was asked to take a multi-option approach:
- A new facility for each department.
- A new facility that would combine the two departments.
- Identifying existing space that could be renovated.
- Provide information on strategic locations for the two
departments in order to better serve the entire Lincoln
community.
- Provide an expert opinion on the square footage needed for
each department, and an estimate of the costs involved.
FGM has worked with a large number of municipalities on
projects exactly like this and considered to be experts in this
area of study.
Wright began the presentation talking about the space needs and
costs. For the Lincoln fire department to operate efficiently, a
total of 20,267 square feet of space is needed. Of that space,
5,162 square feet would be designated as public and
administrative space, 4,444 square feet would be living quarters
for personnel and 10,661 square foot would be needed for the
fire trucks and other equipment. The cost of building a
standalone structure for the fire department, FGM estimated at
$6,993,224.
For the police department the total square footage needed came
to 13,853 square feet. The building would require 2,669 square
feet of public access space, 7,468 square feet of personnel and
administrative space, and 3,716 square feet of police support
space. The final figure would include evidence room, holding
space and interrogation space. The estimated cost of a
standalone police department facility came to $5,699,629.
At this point, Mayor Pro tem Marty Neitzel questioned the costs
estimates. She noted that while the space needs for the police
department were considerably smaller than for the fire
department, the cost per square foot at the police department
was much higher.
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Wright said that was a good observation, and there was a
reasonable explanation for the difference in cost. He said that
the police department building needs to be more secure than the
fire department building. Because of this, the construction
method and materials would differ greatly, and that would add to
the cost of the building. He noted specifically stronger walls,
security glass, evidence rooms with grouted ceilings, secure gun
locker areas, and secure holding areas would increase cost. He
added though that the design recommendations would offer the
city a 100-year life for the facility.
Looking at the total cost of over $12 million for the two buildings, Steve
Parrott asked how reliable those cost estimates were, and how they were going to
fluctuate over time. Wright said that with the experience of the firm, they have
a record of estimating that initial cost pretty accurately. He said there could
be differences in the final cost based on if the city chooses to locate on
property it already owns, or to buy property and what the property could cost.
In addition, Wright told the Council that they should expect a four percent
inflation of the cost annually. In other words, the $12.7 million this year
could escalate to $13.02 million next year and $13.5 million in 2017.
Wright moved on to discuss the space needs and costs if the city were to opt for
building a single facility to house both departments. The total square footage
would be reduced slightly, and the cost of construction would be reduced by
about $1,000,000.
Wright said that there were pros and cons to every scenario. The ‘pro’ for a
combined facility was the savings in construction cost. However, the con was a
big one in his estimation. Building one building leaves the city vulnerable to a
total loss of facilities in the event of a catastrophic event.
After discussing the square footage needs and estimated costs of building new
facilities for the police and fire departments, the team from FGM Architects
moved on to looking at possible locations for those new facilities.
[Nila Smith] |
