Victoria MN Newspaper-The Scoop at City Hall

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NEW VICTORIA BUILDINGS OUT FOR BID

COUNCIL APPROVED MOTION ON 5-0 VOTE

Council voted 5-0 on February 24th to approve construction plans and order advertisement for bids on the new City Hall and Public Works facility. Bids are to be received on April 1st and 3rd with the possible awarding of bids to occur sometime between April 14th and May 12th.

"Nothing has really changed from the last two workshops," said City Engineer Cara Geheren. Brunton Architects prepared plans for City Hall. DJ Medin prepared plans for the Public Works facility.

City Manager Don Uram said the new Council Chambers holds 80 seats and probably has a capacity for about 100. He said the City Office space will have four walled offices plus one conference room, all facing the street. There are also 12 cube spaces on the plan. At this point, only 9 of the 16 office spaces will be occupied "so there is definitely room for growth," said Mr. Uram. "We have some flexibility to add staff in the future when necessary."

He reminded councilmembers that window sizes have been increased on the back side and plans call for stone to now be wrapped around the entire building. He also reminded that stone is approximately twice the cost of the other siding, or an additional $25,000 to $30,000 in cost.

Before the motion to advertise for bids and the vote was taken, Mr. Uram stated, "The longer we wait into spring and summer, the higher the bids. One project at Three Rivers has already come in 15% higher than estimated. I think at this point Dale is generally comfortable with the pricing. We've been as diligent as we can be on the items."

Dale Sonnichsen is the construction manager on the new buildings.

If everything proceeds on schedule, construction would begin in early summer with final completion in December.

FINANCING STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS

HEADING INTO WORKSHOP ON MARCH 10TH

City Manager Don Uram said a workshop is scheduled for Monday, March 10th, when staff will review financial options regarding the new City Hall and Public Works building. "This is a work in progress," he said, referring to both Capital Improvement Bonds and Lease Revenue Bonds as two of the options.

"With today's rates, there'd be a savings of $600,000 over a 20-year term with Capital Improvement Bonds, not the $800,000 stated earlier," said Mr. Uram. "Over a 20-year term, it's not unusual to refinance the debt twice. Certainly the city can act quicker on a Lease Revenue Bond but a Capital Improvement Bond is less expensive."

"We've also looked at using some of our cash reserves to buy down the debt," he said. "We should get the financing in place as quickly as possible. We're basing everything on the number that Council has given us. The Finance Committee is an open forum. Anyone can attend."

CHOOSING WARMER COLORS

FOR NEW VICTORIA CITY HALL/LIBRARY

City Manager Don Uram showed councilmembers new sketches of the new City Hall on February 10th that displayed darker colors on the building, a perimeter of limestone on all sides of the building, not just the front facade, and windows in front that go all the way to the floor.

"We went through samples and materials and are using a little bit darker colors and more of a natural look," he said. "We added storefront glass in front and expanded the window area in the back. Cost is the driving issue. We should have cost estimates from our construction manager maybe next week. It's moving along quickly. We have met with Terry Hartman. I think these colors will tie in more closely with what he is doing. Naturally, all the buildings in downtown don't need to look the same." Hartman Brothers are constructing a new commercial building on the west side of the new City Hall/Library.

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