New Marble Falls police station on track for November groundbreaking
CONNIE SWINNEY • STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — Officials have released a timeline and renderings of a proposed $4.8 million police station and municipal facility with a groundbreaking Nov. 14.
Marble Falls City Council members recently approved hiring STR Constructors, based in Liberty Hill, as contractors for the public safety facility.
That facility is scheduled to be built on two acres in the 900 block of Avenue N adjacent to the Marble Falls Fire Rescue station. The current police station is located on Main Street.
“The design for the facility is completed,” City Manager Mike Hodge said. “We basically selected the lowest most-qualified bidder.”
STR — which bid approximately $3.7 million — was among six sealed competitive bids.
City officials eventually shaved the cost with the contractor to approximately $3.5 million.
“One of the significant changes is that the municipal court will be located in the building along with the police department,” Hodge said. “That has changed the scope … because of how much those two departments interact and the efficiencies and the safety we would get by doing the project.
“That’s what contributed to some of the additional cost,” he added.
A portion of the cost of the building will come from approximately $3 million in bonds sold in 2014.
The city has budgeted $335,000 for the design and about $1 million for equipment, including radios, a tower, a generator, and furniture.
Funding for radio system upgrades will come from a grant totaling about $170,000 from the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG).
“We’re going to be upgrading the radio system when we make the move,” Hodge said. “We’ve already upgraded the dispatch system, so we’ll be moving that.”
Officials also anticipate another funding source, approximately $600,000, from the sale of the two downtown tracts where the current station is located, which is on Main Street just off Third Street.
“That opens up a couple of lots on Main Street in the old building and the parking lot adjacent to it,” he said. “We’re hoping we have some private developers come in and take advantage of coming into those specific locations … opening up the redevelopment we’re starting to see in the downtown area.”
Approximately $1 million in new bond sales would comprise the remaining balance.
Other features of the facility include an emergency operations center, criminal investigative unit offices, and evidence rooms.
Construction is expected to start in November and possibly be completed by the summer of 2017.
“(A larger facility) does put us in a better position,” Hodge said. “We have some additional staff we put in this year, so it enhances our ability to do that.”
The city is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 a.m. Nov. 14 at the facility.
connie@thepicayune.com