HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 [03] Mar 27 March 27, 2014
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Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in special session
at the St. Joseph Fire Hall on March 27, 2014 at 6:30 PM to present the proposed 2014 Government
Center.
Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors Renee Symanietz, Dale Wick, Bob Loso, Steve Frank,
City Administrator Judy Weyrens
Others Present: Murray Mack, Steve Plantenberg, Tom Klein, Bud Reber, Irene Reber, Ellen Wahlstrom,
Jack Schuh, Mary Nimmerfroh, Bob Lyon, Gladys Schneider, Don Schneider, S. Mari Terese, Gary
Heltemes, Ken Hiemenz, 011ie Lesnick, Lynn Valek, Bob Valek.
Schultz opened the session with a welcome to those that are present and passed it over to Wick&
Symanietz as they were on the facility committee.
Wick stated that the committee was asked by the Council to work with staff to see what needs are
currently needed and which ones need to be thought of for the future. Additionally Wick stated that the
session will be question and answer following the facility presentation. Symanietz added that the
committee looked at many things when discussing the new facility. Information was received from open
sessions that were held, from city staff, and from the Police Department.
Murray Mack, HMA Architects: Mack stated that the overall design is a good one given the tight budget.
Dependent upon the bidding, there are parameters built in to make sure the budget is kept.
Exterior
• Along the west side, there will be the majority of parking. There are potential parking options for
parking along Ash Street in the future.
• Along College Avenue, pre-cast base that runs along the entire building. At the entrance they
would like to see some type of stonework for more stability.
• Stairs and a ramp will be constructed for easy access into the building.
• On the south side of the building, there will be a sally port along with three garages for PD
parking. The sally port is listed as an alternate depending on where the bids come in.
Interior
• Both City Offices and the Police Department will have secured entrance. Doors into both
departments will be locked unless someone pushes a button to open the door/s.
• There will be 3 conference rooms, one on the PD side, one on the City Offices side, and one
alongside the council chambers.
• The main lobby can be used for any overflow from City Council meetings and will be equipped
with TVs.
• There are two access points to the community room.
• The Community Room can be divided into two separate rooms with the wall divider.
• The Council Chamber will have seating for about 40 people. There is seating for 7 people on the
council and seating for 6 people for staff.
• There will be direct access from the council chambers to the connected conference rooms.
City offices
• There are 4 designated offices for city staff, two workspaces for the reception area, and additional
open work stations.
• City office staff will have a shared break room with the PD.
Police Department
• The PD has a large conference room that can be divided with a removable wall that can be
utilized by the public.
• There are a number of work stations, offices for the chief, investigators, and sergeants.
• Additional interview rooms, evidence rooms, rooms for weapons cleaning & storage will be
added.
• In-door parking for 3 squad cars will be provided.
Lobby
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• One alternate for the building would be adding a skylight.
Mack stated that they are trying to keep the budget at$4.5 million which includes the soft costs. Soft
costs include furniture, engineering fees, contract costs etc. Bidding will go out on Monday, with
construction hopefully starting in May.
Question &Answer
Mary Nimmerfroh,1307 Dale St: Nimmerfroh asked how large the open lobby space was. Mack stated
that it would be roughly 33ftx24ft to which Nimmerfroh asked why it was so large. Mack commented he
does not feel it is too big given the building plan. The lobby space could be used for overflow for
meetings. Additionally the space could be used as a check-in area for people that are using the
community room for an event so as to not take up space in the community room itself.
Secondly Nimmerfroh asked how many stalls were in the public bathrooms. Mack stated that there will be
5 stalls in the women's and 3 urinals and 2 water closets in the men's restroom, both of which are up to
code.
Bob Lyon question why the City so many conference rooms? Mack stated that for the most part there are
three conference rooms. There could be many meetings going on at once. Lyon stated that there are too
many conference rooms and too much wasted space. Lyon added that the center should be put a
referendum and find out what the people who are going. He believes it is a waste of time, space, and
money.
Ellen Wahlstrom 409— 8th Ave NE: Wahlstrom stated that this is a meeting to explain the plans for the
Government Center. However, they need to know how they are going to pay for the residents. There is a
limited number of residents with a large number of the residents on a strict income. What type of growth is
being projected so that there will be more tax payers to help with the burden.
Wick stated that the project will be going out for bids next week. When the bids come back, then the
Council will know what the costs will be. At that point the amount of what the bond will be and what the
impact will be on the residents will be determined at that time. Wick added that the Council still has a final
say on whether the building will be constructed and this will be based on how the bids come in.
Additionally there are alternates that will also be bid on that can be cut from the project if bids come in
higher than expected.
Loso stated that the last report he viewed from the State Demographer estimated growth to be about
9,000 more residents than what is in the City now.
Judy Weyrens, City Administrator, stated that the financial situation was discussed heavily by the Council.
The entire capital improvement plan was looked at for the next three years. The community room, the
larger conference room, and the council chamber are being partially funded by sales tax. From 2014-
2020 there will be a tax increase of 4.4% which spread out over those years, it is less than a percent a
year. Additionally that figure does not include any additional growth to the city.
Frank stated that not all the council members are for the Government Center. Frank added that he is
appreciative of all the work that the committee has done. He believes the building is needed, but not at
this time. The main reason for his vote against the building is that there are too many unknowns. Frank
added that there are miles of pipeline that is made of clay and will need to be fixed soon. Additionally,
Frank voted for the sales tax initiative but does not agree with using it for the community center. Frank
supports a referendum on the government center.
Bud Reber: Reber stated that he believes the center is needed, but that residents cannot afford it, adding
that he has lived in the city for 88 years and would move if he were younger.
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Lyon questioned how much the building would cost in maintenance and up-keep. Mack stated that the
costs would be more, but the new building would be more efficient not only financially, but in work as well.
Mack did not have a dollar amount.
Wahlstrom stated that she is conflicted because something needs to be done. What is the best option to
try and fix the current building? She added that the current building is not satisfactory to function for the
future. If the project can be bonded with a lower interest rate, then it would be better than if the interest
rate were to increase years down the road. Wahlstrom stated that a referendum would call more attention
to the center and make people more aware.
Mack added that in addition to the increased interest rates, the construction rates are increasing as well.
Schultz stated that the facility committee has met for over 12 months going over different alternatives.
Schultz added that many meetings were held and the information that was discussed probably should
have been more readily available to the residents. By giving the residents that knowledge and those facts,
then maybe that would ease some of the fear or at least there would be understanding as to what the
committee has gone through in getting where they are today.
Frank stated that they are not focusing on the near future (5-10 years), rather 50 years down the road. He
added that it is not the right time for the building. Frank doesn't feel the building will be sufficient for
further growth. He also has concerns with the emergency preparedness of the building as there is not a
place that is safe for those inside the building in case of an emergency.
Steve Plantenberg, RA Morton &Associates: Platenberg stated there have been 23 different variations
for the Government Center including remodeling the current building, relocating, and variations for a new
building on the existing site.
Lynn Valek, 116— 13th Ave SE: Valek asked how many parking spaces there will be. Mack stated that
there would be 28 parking spaces. Wick stated that was a concern with the amount of parking. The
likelihood of all the conference rooms and community room being used at once is unlikely.
Jud We rens
Ad inist':tor
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