After Monday’s Carroll City Council meeting and the presentation of cost estimates for renovation of City Hall and the Commercial Savings Bank building on North Adams Street, City Administrator, Michel Pogge-Weaver, says they were all taken a bit by surprise with the presentation of a range from around $6.9 million to over $7.6 million.
He said those numbers also reflect a logical timeline on construction.
The numbers OPN presented are pretty solid, but Pogge-Weaver said their challenge now is to identify areas where they can eliminate costs. He said in talking with bank representatives on Tuesday, the boiler was replaced in 2011, and the city hall building has about a five year old boiler as well, so there may be places that will influence costs. He added that one important thing to keep in mind when reviewing these costs is that this is work on two buildings with two different mechanical systems, two sets of plumbing equipment and two electrical systems and it is important to keep that in perspective. They also need to address current standards for the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
Pogge-Weaver said there are a variety of funding sources for a project of this nature. Community fundraising, Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), hotel/motel tax and a tax levy are all possible for a project of this scope. He said that the community will be able to provide their input on this along with the proposed Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) of 67 cents per $1,000 in valuation going to a public vote in February.
The council is expected to discuss the conceptual plans and the cost estimates at their next meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 27, beginning at 5:15 p.m. in the second-floor council chambers at City Hall.
