The replacement of the Great Bend Police Station advanced Monday night as the City Council approved a $498,500 bid from the Wichita’s GLMV Architects for the design work.
The city recently released a request for qualifications for the design of the facility and received nine submittals, City Administrator Kendal Francis said. A mayoral committee formed last October reviewed and ranked the bids and conducted in-person interviews with the top three firms.
The committee included Building Inspector Logan Burns, Ward 3 Councilman Cory Urban, Police Capt. Scott Bieberle, local contractor Andy Mingenback, local contractor Barry Stalcup, Adam Sciacca, Mayor Cody Schmidt and Francis.
“GLMV was unanimously selected,” he said. “They were very highly recommended by multiple contractors and customers.”
Additionally, they have a solid history of work both in the community and for the city itself, Francis said. So, the city staff recommended an agreement with GLMV for the base price of $477,500, plus $21,000 for additional services for a total cost of $498,500.
The estimated $5.8 million, 25,000-square-foot facility will sit at 12th and Baker on what is now a city parking lot and will also house the Municipal Court.
“We’re no strangers to Great Bend,” said GLMV Vice President Paul Michell, addressing the council. They have worked on Brit Spaugh Zoo, the new Wheatland Electric building and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation office.
Now, for about a month, they will work as an advisor with the selection committee to find a project manager to oversee the effort, and come up with an outline of what the building will look like. They will use national standards while tailoring the structure to the city’s needs, Michell said.
“From there, we will jump into design and work with you guys to figure out what this building becomes in three dimensions,” he said. Getting through the blueprint stage will take about 10-12 months.
They might be able to accelerate things and start work at the site in six to eight months, he said. Michell stressed GLMV would work closely with the project manager, the city and the Police Department on the actual schedule.
He said he would report back to the council soon with a firm timetable for the project.
Also Monday night, the county approved putting a .10% sale tax question to service the debt for the police station’s construction with a 20-year sunset on the Nov. 2 general election ballot. The estimated revenue comes to $377,752 per year.
Originally, this also included replacing City Hall by remodeling the remainder of the Events Center office complex. The cost was estimated at $8 million, but that idea was dropped due to the cost.
Background
The project was first addressed in 2016 when an engineering study for current police station on Williams Street was approved by the council. Championed by then-Police Chief Cliff Couch, there was discussion then that it would be preferable to start from scratch at a new location.
The idea was dusted off again last September when Francis brought up resuscitating the effort to replace the current 90-plus-year-old building.
There are plumbing issues, problems with the heating an air conditioning and outdated electrical systems. Compounding this is the space itself.
Years of remodeling have created a patchwork layout with wasted and unusable spaces, and most of the building is not handicapped accessible. Some improvements were made about four years ago to the current structure, but those were only stop-gap measures.
Research indicates the edifice was built in 1928 as part of the City Auditorium. At the time, the front portion that houses the Police Department also held the City Office and Fire Department.
