Buckley’s City Hall will soon be refreshed.
On June 25, the Buckley City Council approved a bid with Puyallup-based Lincoln Construction Inc. to do some work on the historic building, with a goal of starting work this month and finishing by around this time next year.
The issue? Space.
“The current City Hall is no longer functional,” City Administrator Courtney Brunell wrote in a June 24 council memo. “There is not enough space to accommodate existing staff and inadequate filing/storage space. Additionally, there are no conference or meeting rooms available, The Planning and Building Department has also outgrown its space at the multi-purpose center.”
Lincoln Construction’s bid came in at more than $2.7 million; the company has some experience with other city halls, like in Port Orchard. Lincoln Construction did not provide the actual lowest bid, but the other company who provided the lowest bid was deemed not responsible due to previous failures including 186 days of liquidated damages due to untimely completion of a past project.
Approving this bid was one of the final steps of the nearly two-year-old project for Buckley’s mayor and City Council.
INCREASING COSTS
The cost of the current project is more than the council originally budgeted for; in the fall of 2022, elected officials approved a $1.55 million budget for work on City Hall. This would have tackled the replacement of rotted wood, improve the HVAC system, and the install a metal roof, but not include the need for additional spacing due to estimated cost.
The following spring, bids came in at between $1.65 million for just the bare bones of the project, or $2 million for the addition of a metal roof and improved parking lot. The council rejected these bids.
The council rejected other bids that summer as well, expressing concerns about the design and further budget issues in the financial plan, which would have required dipping into reserve funds.
A budget for $2.6 million was passed in November 2023, and amended to $2.8 million on Jan 9, 2024.
During the council meeting, residents brought up questions and concerns about the project. Councilwoman Denice Bergerson inquired about revenue collection this year and the allocation of REET funding into this project.
“We are currently on track, and we will continue to have money in REET,” Administrator Brunell responded on Buckley’s current revenue projections. “REET dollars come in with a two-month delay, the money we receive in the first half is always less than what we receive in the second half. We have received $75,183 we budget to receive $200,000.”
Detractors argued the need for renovating city hall when there are many other potential uses for this money in Buckley. Brunell argued in addition to helping council members with space, the spending will also help local citizens.
“The renovation is essential for both staffing as well as for customers. It is going to give us a one stop shop front counter where they will be able to pay bills, apply for permits, etc, rather than having to visit multiple building like they currently do.”
PROJECT SCOPE
“Staff made the recommendation that we do not move forward because it did not solve any of our organizational wide issues regarding space,” Brunell said during the late June meeting. “That is when we brought forward the second edition in order to resolve that issue rather than spend that amount of money on something that would not solve that problem.”
While some projections see the completion of this project within the next 13 months, Brunell remarked that it is potentially too optimistic, and lands on the more conservative side of a 14–15-month timeline.
The current project expects to add nearly 2,000 square feet of new office area (for a total of just over 3,800 square feet) to accommodate 18 employees, plus a conference room, multi-use front counter, and a revised entryway, a new roof and other inside repairs.
A parking lot will also be installed, but it might not be at the same time as the building renovations.
“Once opened, the new City Hall will serve as a one-stop-shop for all City administrative operations, including admin, finance, HR, planning & building, passport processing, utility payments, and more,” Brunell said in an email interview.
Staff moved out of City Hall on July 9.
Development Services will be operating out of the Public Works building (240 South River Road).
City Hall administrative services, including passports and utilities will be operating at the Multi-Purpose Center (811 Main Street).
Residents looking to contact these offices should direct their calls to the temporary locations.
Construction is hoped to begin within the next month.
