Hurricane staff present $44 million plan for new city office and police station; $27M shortfall projected

A city staff member told the Hurricane City Council that building a combined city office and police station would cost roughly $44 million once site utilities, architectural and contingencies are included.

"We're we're looking at pretty much a $44,000,000 build, for both of these projects," the staff member said, walking members through line‑item estimates: about $13,600,000 for the city office, $19,000,000 for the police station, $6.5 million for site utilities, and roughly $2,800,000 for architectural and engineering services, plus contingency amounts.

The presentation included financing scenarios. Staff said the city has been saving in a dedicated fund and could contribute roughly $16.7 million from those savings, expects proceeds from selling the old police station and can rewrap some existing bond payments into the new debt. Even so, staff estimated a remaining shortfall of about $27 million and outlined an example amortization: a 25‑year bond at about 4.5% would require annual payments near $1.8 million.

Why it matters: council members said the city needs new facilities but urged caution about borrowing and about timing in a volatile construction market. Staff warned that construction costs are rising faster than savings and that delaying design work risks higher future prices.

Council next steps: staff asked the council to approve moving a construction‑manager/general‑contractor selection forward for the April 16 meeting and to consider adding $350,000 to an earmarked bond‑reserve account (raising the earmark to roughly $978,000) to position the city for borrowing if needed. The staff member said the earliest the buildings could be completed would be roughly three years after starting construction‑document work, with construction estimated at about 18 months.

Council members discussed alternatives: staging the police station first, building a single structure sized for future city‑office occupancy, or proceeding with both at once. Several members signaled urgency for the police station because of operational needs; others cautioned that phasing increases total cost.

The council did not take a formal vote during the session; staff said they would return with construction‑management documents and updated budget work for the next meetings.