No contract for the architectural design of a proposed justice center was awarded during the Grantsville City Council meeting Wednesday night.
The city received five proposals from various engineering and architectural firms across the state and Grantsville City Police Chief Kevin Turner supported the second-lowest bid from JRCA Architects, a Salt Lake City firm.
JRCA Architects completed the needs assessment the city used to develop the potential cost and location for the proposed justice center, which is based around a $3.6 million budget.
The low bid came from Pioneer Architecture, at $149,000. The next lowest, JRCA Architects, was $182,000.
Turner said selecting another company would require a new needs assessment to be drawn up before any architectural drawings could be completed. The city paid JRCA $10,000 for the initial needs assessment in 2015.
In his presentation to the city council, Turner also praised JRCA Architects’ decades of experience in constructing police stations and justice centers. He said Pioneer Architecture’s portfolio consisted of clubhouses at golf courses and building renovations.
The council, however, questioned if Turner should have done better research on the different companies that submitted proposals despite a positive working relationship with JRCA Architects.
Grantsville City Council Member Tom Tripp asked Turner if he thought it was worth $40,000 for the city to stick with JRCA Architects over Pioneer Architecture.
“I do,” Turner said. “Like I said, they have 30 years of experience with police buildings. They’re the predominant builder right now, with police departments in the state.”
Turner also discussed the cost of putting a basement under the proposed justice center, which JRCA Architects estimated would be about $1 million, including an elevator required for accessibility and vehicle parking. The city council asked Turner to review the possibility of a basement instead of refurbishing the exterior of the current recreation center for $30,000.
Tripp motioned that the council request JRCA and Pioneer submit general contractor references to be reviewed by council member Mike Colson, who owns a general contracting business. The motion passed unanimously.
The city council also adopted a fee schedule for inspections required during special events. Last year, the city had to absorb the cost of its building inspectors spending hours at Country Fan Fest at Deseret Peak Complex, inspecting stages and large tents as required by state law, which prompted the legislation.
Under the new fee schedule, the first hour of inspections would be included under the building permit fee of $100. Event organizers would have to pay the city $50 per hour for each additional hour inspectors are onsite.
Grantsville City Attorney Joel Linares said the ordinance would only affect events large enough to have structures that require a building permit. Bounce houses, tents for private events and other smaller gatherings would not be affected by the new fee.
“You’re only going to get inspected if you pull a building permit,” Linares said. “They have to pull building permits to erect those stages where they have overhanging lights, overhanging speakers, all of that sort of stuff.”