The city of Pearland is weighing its options for a multimillion-dollar renovation of its city hall complex after council members tabled discussions at a meeting Oct. 24. City administrators presented council members with four options for the renovation plans. The recommended option was No. 3, which is the second most costly option at $6.124 million. The complex comprises the 30-year-old city hall and the 34-year-old city annex building. Pearland-based Construction Master of Houston Inc. was the selected bidder for the renovations. “We’ll be able to establish this as a facility that will serve us very well for the next 30 years as it has for the past 30 years,” Assistant City Manager Trent Epperson said. “We have to deal with past growth as well as future growth.” But some council members had concerns about the project cost exceeding the established budget, about the primary funding sources for the project and heightening security to the extent that citizens would feel unable to access public property. “We’re spending money that’s not voter-approved debt, and tonight we’re going to sit here and issue another million dollars in non-voter-approved debt. I still struggle with that. We’ve got other projects throughout the city that this money should be spent on if we’re going to spend it,” said Councilman Tony Carbone. “I think this would be perfect for the next bond referendum. I just can’t see spending this money [now].” Councilman Trent Perez, who was sworn into office in July, took a different approach. Perez said that if city council did move forward with the renovation that he would like to see all the listed projects completed, which would be the fourth and most expensive option rather than the recommended option No. 3. He added if the city waited, construction costs could rise. “I feel like we could spend this money in other places, more direct needs, but I think as a body we’ve moved in this direction," Perez said. "I worked in this building, and it's very uncomfortable in a lot of offices. There are a lot of things we should do. … if we’re going to do it, [we] might as well do all of it.” Council members voted 4-2 to table discussions for a future meeting. The recommended plan includes electrical, plumbing and mechanical engineering work as well as upgrades to the elevators, HVAC and security systems. The project does not include the building envelope, which would have to be addressed in the future. The building envelope is what separates the interior of the building from the exterior and comprises walls, doors, windows, roofing, etc. To fund the recommended renovation plan, the city anticipates it would need to issue just under $1.1 million in certificates of obligation. The debt would not increase the city's tax rate but would increase the city’s annual debt service by about $55,000, said Deputy City Manager Jon Branson. Certificates of obligation—known as COs—are a form of municipal debt that does not require voter approval. The rest of the funding will come from previous certificates of obligation, water and sewer bonds, and PEG channel funds, Epperson said. In 2015, Pearland City Council approved more than $400,000 in contract design services from Hall, Barnum and Lucchesi Architects. City Council meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 6:30 p.m. at city hall. Meeting agendas are posted online at www.pearlandtx.gov/government/agendas/city-council.