Local · Trusted · Free
The Morning Impact — your neighborhood's most important stories, delivered every morning.
Roman Forest officials are reviewing the scope of the city’s planned police department expansion project after council members rejected all of the bids that came in during a two-week period in January.
The details
City Engineer Greg Phipps briefed Roman Forest council members on the update during the city's Feb. 23 meeting.
Phipps said the city received several bids to complete work on the project after council members authorized city officials to begin the bidding process in December.
However, after reviewing the bids during a Feb. 9 special-called meeting, Phipps said council members determined they needed to review the scope of the project after they were unable to come to an agreement with any of the contractors who bid on the project.
“We are going through the plans to determine what absolutely must be on the project, so we're working on the project scope, working with [Police Chief Stephen Carlisle] on some funding options, and working with the council on their thoughts on where they would like to go with this building,” Phipps said. “Hopefully, we will meet somewhere in the middle that allows this project to go on.”
Some context
According to previous reporting, the project will consist of adding roughly 2,000 square feet of space to the city’s police department. Once completed, officials said around half of the existing police department will be converted into additional space for City Hall.
What’s next
Phipps said city officials will work on a new budget for the project over the next few weeks as they determine what changes need to be made for the project to move forward.
While a start date for construction has not yet been determined, Phipps had previously stated that officials are aiming to complete the project by the end of 2026.
