After discussing the issue at Nov. 5 and Nov. 20 meetings and asking for revisions to the proposal, Kyle City Council on Dec. 18 approved $34,900 to be paid to Austin-based Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects for a police facility needs assessment.
“At the previous council meeting the council gave directions to our architect-contractors to expand the scope of their services and to bring back that scope-of-work contract,” Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said. “That’s what we’ve delivered.”
The original proposal was strictly to plan for a new building, but council members asked that retrofitting of existing buildings also be considered. A similar study took place in 2009, but that survey proposed a building that was too expensive for the city at the time.
“We want to take a much more realistic look,” City Manager Scott Sellers said when the item was first discussed Nov. 5; he added that some of the amenities included in the previous plans are now being provided by the new ACC Hays public safety building.The scope of the approved proposal includes a 20-year needs assessment—including parking—in addition to an evaluation of several different facility options including: keeping and possibly renovating the existing City Hall at 100 W. Center Street and the existing police department building at 111 N. Front Street; moving the police department at least partially to Center Street and demolishing or redeveloping the Front Street property; a plan for a new building on a generic site; and a plan showing best available options according to a fixed budget the city will provide.
The assessment is expected to be finished in about eight weeks from Dec. 18, Barnett said.
