Gentry council approves study for police station

— A study to determine the needs for a future police station in Gentry will go forward, with council members voting to authorize Gentry Mayor Wes Hogue to enter into acontract with Jim Kooistra of Architects Incorporated in Gentry to complete phase one of the study for a cost not to exceed $12,000.

Finance committee members on Thursday determined the city could afford to pay forprofessional services for the study of facility needs and options for the Gentry Police Department.

The committee meeting was called by Mayor Wes Hogue to determine if the city was in a position to afford to hire Kooistra to complete a study on the present and future facility needs of the Gentry Police Department, an evaluation of the police department's current facility and a study on possible designs and locations for a new police department facility in the future.

The council had authorized Hogue to enter into negotiations with Kooistra for the police department study on May 1. In order to provide the city with a cost for the study, Kooistra put in more than 120 hours of research and review, completing more than 70 percent of the study's first phase ata billed cost of $7,440, according to documents supplied by Kooistra. The money was payable to Kooistra only if the city hired him to complete the study.

Kooistra performed the work at his own risk, and the city was under no obligationto pay Kooistra until the council chose to accept Kooistra's proposed cost for the study and hire him, Hogue told the council.

“Remember that when he’s done this kind of work for us before, we have been able to apply for and get grants,” said councilwoman Clara Garrett.

Kooistra has been instrumental in the city receiving numerous grants for major projects, including many park improvements.

The study was divided in three phases, with the first phase being a study of present and future needs,possible site locations and possible multiple use construction.

The second phase would focus more on the actual site and building design, with the last phase including the implementation of a final design and oversight of construction.

“Phase one is real important,” Kooistra said, explaining the need to assess future needs of the police department out to 20 years so that when a plan is drawn up, it is a good working plan for the city which will serve its needs for years to come.

“You don’t want to have working drawings prepared and then change your mind,” Kooistra said. “If I do phase one right, phase two will be easy.”

The estimated cost for the first phase is $11,400 according to documents Kooistra supplied to the city.

The money will be paid out of incoming county tax revenue.

Hogue told the council that county tax revenue was coming in close to what the city had budgeted for the year. With no other major unbudgeted expenditures on the horizon, the finance committee recommended the council approve payment for phase one.

Any further work into the second phase of the project will need to be brought back to the council for approval.

News, Pages 3 on 06/09/2010