Council approves City Hall renovation and new generator amid higher‑than‑expected bids

The Marion City Council on Nov. 20 approved project calendars for City Hall renovation and a replacement generator and authorized staff to proceed with the recommended contractors.

Pam, a city staff presenter, described the City Hall renovation as work on roughly 20 of the building’s 23,400 square feet to reorganize departmental spaces, improve public access and employee safety, move Community Development and IT into the first floor, and add conference rooms. Engineers’ estimates placed the project at $483,537; the lowest bids came in about 25.3% higher than that estimate. After reviewing bids that staff said were close to one another, staff recommended proceeding with Garland Construction. The council approved project calendar resolutions 32,646 and 32,647.

Shauner, another city staff member, presented the generator upgrade for City Hall: the proposal was for a 150‑kilowatt, 521‑amp, 208‑volt natural‑gas generator. Staff reported three bids and recommended awarding the work to Hawkeye Electric, whose low bid was $185,000 (about 74% of the engineer’s estimate as reported). Council discussed the capacity difference with the current generator, which staff said was undersized, and asked what would happen to the old unit; staff said disposition typically follows the contract terms and could be included in the contractor’s price or disposed through surplus channels.

Both the renovation and generator project calendars were approved by voice vote; staff will proceed with contract execution and the scheduling required to meet timelines.