Council OKs Wells Fargo remodel

By JOHN STANG

The Daily Inter Lake

A Great Falls construction firm has the green light to remodel the old Wells Fargo building to become Kalispell's new City Hall.

Kalispell's City Council voted 6-3 Monday to award the $1.294 million contract to low bidder Oswood Construction Co. - hoping to move the bulk of the city government into the new 19,662-square-foot building at 201 First Ave E. in about six months.

Then the police and fire departments, plus the municipal court - which are housed in the current City Hall - would expand to fill the rest of the present building.

The other four bids ranged from $1.377 million to $1.45 million, with all five including $80,000 in contingency money for unexpected expenses.

Council members Bob Hafferman, Tim Kluesner and Bob Herron opposed awarding the contract, arguing that other options were not thoroughly explored and that the Wells Fargo plan has not been adequately mapped out to their satisfaction.

Hafferman wanted to study expanding the current city hall with a serious look taken at adding extra floors - a proposal that did not gather support Monday.

While the city expects to borrow money to pay for the remodeling, it does not have a specific plan mapped out on where it will borrow the money and how much will be borrowed. That question worried many council members, who want such a plan presented to them soon.

The current City Hall has 26,229 square feet, while some city offices occupy another 5,991 square feet of leased downtown space.

The remodeling and moving project has sparked controversy because the original remodeling estimate of $800,000 grew to $1.3 million after the numbers were more seriously crunched.

Unexpected problems surfaced as the preliminary estimate got fine-tuned.

Cost of construction materials increased. The heating system needed replacing. The basement office area is not accessible to handicapped people. More cubicles were needed than originally planned, which created a ripple effect - with extra expenses - on other renovation plans.

The city bought the Wells Fargo building - appraised at $1.7 million - for $1.1 million in 2005. Consequently, the overall cost of the move would be about $2.4 million, or about $120 per square foot, according to a city staff memo to the council.

New office construction costs roughly $200 to $250 per square foot, according to the memo.

Meanwhile, the memo said the preliminary estimate to remodel the current City Hall for the police and fire departments plus the court would be roughly $150,000 to $200,000.

Some council members wanted to keep the council chamber in its present location, which is a big room that it shares with the municipal court.

The staff memo said such a measure would save $20,000 to $25,000, but also would add inconveniences by having the council meet in a location separate from most of the administration. It also contended that increased courtroom security measures would be incompatible with a public-oriented council chamber, such as a glass screen between the public and the mayor sitting in the judge's seat.