While contractors are busy studying the city’s requirements for
a new police station, crunching numbers and preparing bids, we’ll
take a moment to dust off our crystal ball.
While contractors are busy studying the city’s requirements for a new police station, crunching numbers and preparing bids, we’ll take a moment to dust off our crystal ball.
Hmm, we see Gilroy officials opening bids higher than the $28 million estimate prepared by the city’s engineer. And of course, we remember that the current estimate is a huge increase over the first $19 million budget for this project.
Hmm, we see City Council members dreading the inevitable but finally forced to make the tough call they’ve been trying to avoid since that first $19 million price tag was revealed: Is “the ideal” – Civic Center campus – really worth the price tag?
The answer, we think, is clearly “no.” We’ve frequently pointed to Morgan Hill’s budget-friendly police station that its officers moved into this month. The station, located in an empty industrial/office building, sported a $9.45 million price tag. It’s worth noting that both cities began the process of planning for a new police station at roughly the same time. Morgan Hill is using theirs, while Gilroy officials cross their fingers and toes hoping for lower-than-estimated bids on their second go-round.
While Gilroy has dallied, steel prices and other construction costs have risen. While city consultants try to reassure us that prices have “stabilized” no one pretends that they’ve dropped.
It’s time to decide already. No matter what City Council decides, one constituency or another will be unhappy. If City Council decides to find another site for a new police station, the unhappy folks might be police brass and City Hall officials who’ve pushed the pricey Civic Center campus scheme for years.
Or, if City Council decides to stick with the expensive Civic Center site, it might be taxpayers who complain.
We’d ask City Council members to remember where their fiduciary responsibilities lie when they’re studying those contractor bids on July 8.
If the bids come in lower than expected, the decision will still be difficult. It’s a whole lot of money for one civic building.
