SEQUIM –– City Manager Steve Burkett signed a contract with Lydig Construction of Bellevue on Monday to begin work on the city’s $11.85 million new city hall and police station after the council voted unanimously in a special session to approve the contract.
City officials are scheduled to meet with Lydig to go over specifics of the design plan at 11:30 a.m. today in the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
“I guess it’s time to get this started,” Burkett said before signing the contracts.
The new building, expected to be around 30,000 square feet, will be sited on most of the 100 block of West Cedar Street, between Sequim Avenue on the east and Second Avenue on the west. It is expected to be completed by April 2015.
The final bill may fluctuate, Burkett said, as the city and Lydig close in closer on price estimates for things like moving utilities and arranging parking spaces.
“Some of these can be decided now or need to be decided now,” he said. “Others can wait.”
Laying the new building’s foundation is the most likely element to swing the price of construction, Burkett said, though he noted the contract was approved with a not-to-exceed price of $11.85 million, which means other design features may need to be changed if costs vary too wildly.
Lydig representatives will meet with the council and city staff throughout the early construction phase to review options.
Lydig will build a design by Integrus Architeture, after the team’s barn-style design was picked by the council over a gray concrete-brick design from architects Miller Hull Partnership and contractor BNBuilders.
Also Monday, the council approved a $200,000 contract with Optimum Building Consultants of Bellevue to oversee the construction project.
In addition to the city government offices, the new building also will house the police department, now renting space in the Sequim Village Shopping Center at 609 W. Washington St.
Destruction of the existing city hall, built for $110,000 in 1973, is expected to begin in March, Burkett said.
The total bill for the new building, including land acquisition and demolition, will be $15 million.
Earlier this year, the city sold $10.439 million in bonds to fund the project, which will be repaid annually at $660,000 for the next 30 years.
The city hopes to repay some of that with the $200,000 made available annually by eliminating rent on offices and the police station.
It also plans to use a portion of the criminal justice sales tax implemented last year.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.