The city’s Public Works Division is currently located on property with the city’s fire department. This building was constructed in 1955 and is “no longer functionally or structurally sufficient to support the current and future needs of the Public Works Division,” resolution documents state.
In October 2022, council approved a resolution to solicit engineering proposals for the design of a new public works division facility to be located on a different site, at Center Point 70 Boulevard. The city has now vacated this plan with the acquisition of the Taylorsville Road location.
“There were a few challenges we had at that particular location,” Chodkowski said Monday. “The (site) is subject to wetland restrictions, and there is a stream which bifurcates the property and needs to be bridged, so while the benefit is we own the property so there is no acquisition cost, there are some workarounds (that would be required).”
Soon after drafting the plan to build on the Center Point 70 site, Chodkowski said the city was contacted by the realtor for the 5001 Taylorsville Property, which is in a preferable location and has fewer challenges to design around, he said.
The engineer for the project is Kueny Architects, a firm that was originally hired to design the Center Point 70 location at a cost not to exceed $650,000. According to Chodkowski, the firm had not begun the detailed design process the decision was made to switch locations.
Chodkowski estimates the planning stage will continue through 2023, with construction to begin in 2024 and a goal for the Public Works Division to move to the new location in spring 2025.
Funding for the Taylorsville Road purchase will come from the city’s capital improvement fund, in advance from the general fund, until permanent financing is secured by the city through the issuance of bonds at a future date, Chodkowski said.
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