The city proposed hiring consultant Freese and Nichols Inc. at $392,250 to do a facility conditions and needs study. While most City Council members were on board with the condition assessment, some opposed the needs assessment.
Council Member Larry Millican said the city has a history of doing facility needs assessments and then doing nothing with the studies. For instance, the city did studies for library, animal shelter and historic district needs, and none of the recommended projects ever happened, he said.
“I think the $400[000] is a waste of money if in fact the council is not going to use that information ... and fund those activities, and we have a history that we have not,” he said.
That said, Millican supported the idea of assessing the condition of the city’s buildings to make sure the city is not liable, but most of the study’s cost is related to the needs assessment, Millican said.
City Manager John Baumgartner said the city is considering another bond election, and a needs assessment would help the city determine what projects could be included in the bond.
“If we don’t know kind of where we’re going, it makes it a challenge as we look forward to perhaps a bond election in late 2023 or early 2024,” he said.
Mayor Pat Hallisey said library officials have done a good job of taking the study on the need for a new library, parsing down the recommendations and coming back to the city with a reasonable alternative: a small library on the west side with an adjacent park.
“It’s almost like our attitude is, ‘Well, we gotta have all the money or we can’t do it,’” he said.
Council Member Hank Dugie agreed with others who said the results from needs assessment often go ignored but said now is the time to plan for the future.
“I truly think this org is now high-functioning,” he said of city staff. “Now would be the time to start planning for build-out.”
Council Member Nick Long made a motion to postpone the vote for two meetings and do a workshop on the topic. The vote passed 7-1 with Millican opposed.
