The Mount Vernon City Council, in its recent meeting, authorized the Safety-Service Director to advertise for bids for a qualifications-based construction manager-at-risk contract for the new police station at 71 Sychar Road.
"I've asked several times through processes for several of these building projects, how we're paying for things, and haven't quite gotten a satisfactory answer," said Council member Tammy Woods during the meeting, according to a video recording.
According to the meeting video, Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers said that by hiring a construction manager for projects, the city has been able to reduce costs. Instead of constructing a city hall annex along with replacing the existing justice center, the city will save tens of millions of dollars. Moving City Hall to the Central Ohio Technical College building in Mount Vernon will result in additional savings. Scaling back on the new police station also helps control expenses.
Salyers further explained that a one-time $2 million funding from the Strategic Fund of the Ohio government was designated for the police station project and is being used towards its design work. The city plans to issue bonds to finance the construction of the new police station. City consultants will assist in structuring bond repayment plans that are manageable over 30 or 40 years. Salyers compared these bond repayments to a property owner paying a mortgage, stating that payments will be made using tax dollars.
