Further details for the new City Hall project were fleshed out at the July 23 meeting of Fairfield City Council.
During the meeting, the council took several steps in advancing the prospects of the project to turn Navarro College’s Fairfield campus into a working City Hall, including looking at financing and design-team options. Negotiations are ongoing with Navarro to purchase the six-building, 23,000-square-foot property.
A motion to authorize publication of notice of intention to issue certificate of obligation was passed 4-1, giving the city the needed funds to complete the Navarro project, as well as other “high priority” jobs throughout Fairfield.
After looking over three options for the Certificates of Obligation, the council selected in the amount of $2,650,000. Description of the CO and its usage for Navarro and other projects will be posted twice in the Recorder in the coming weeks. Thirty days after first posting, the council may officially issue the CO.
A CO is a way for the council to fund public works without voter approval, and will be included in Fairfield’s longterm debt. The city is currently paying a CO, issued in 2002 for public works, until 2022.
The $2,650,000 option will put the least stress on current debt rates, according to city administrator Nate Smith. Also considered were a $4,000,000 CO and a $2,650,000 CO with an option to reissue a new CO in 2021.
Even with the new debt taken on, Smith noted that city taxes might lower in the coming year, due to a favorable property evaluation from the appraisal district.
Between purchase price and construction costs, the Navarro project will take up $1,400,000 of the new CO. With the rest of the funding, the city plans to focus on water-tower rehabilitation, drainage work on South Bateman Road, and other street-related work.
To potentially secure extra funding, the council authorized a request for grant-writing services proposals, in an attempt to procure government grant money.
Also approved by the council was a motion to advertise the need for a design-build team for Navarro. The selected design-builder would be responsible for all architectural planning and design on the project.
Qualification statement submissions by potential teams must be submitted by 5 p.m. Sept. 6. The council will select finalists on Sept. 24, followed by the finalists’ submission of a full project proposal. An official team will be selected Nov. 12.
In other matters, the council authorized project agreement BY-MISC-07-19, requesting a work crew from the Boyd Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to help with city upkeep duties.
The work crew, consisting of three to four inmates, would be tasked with manual labor during their time in Fairfield, and would work in the morning hours to avoid peak heat conditions. The agreement would be “starting small,” but would eventually escalate into help on larger projects.
In exchange for the labor, the city must provide transportation, equipment, meals and staff supervision. Employer-offender training will also take place, informing about potential risks of working with inmates in a real-world setting.
Pending further approval, the program could begin as soon as Aug. 1.
Mike Tibbetts of Hayter Engineering was a featured guest at the meeting, presenting findings regarding the Oak Street paving project.
Due to the costs of using rock instead of cement, the project has risen in price since Tibbetts’ previous presentation, with bids estimated at $212,000.
Bids for the approximately 4,340 square yards of paving will be received by the city until 11 a.m. Aug. 27, at which time the bids will be publicly opened.