Germantown committee deadlocks on police-station architect; item sent to village board with no recommendation

Trustees at a Germantown village committee meeting on April 20 debated which architecture firm should design a proposed new police facility but failed to agree on a recommendation, sending the matter to the village board with no committee endorsement.

The committee heard a presentation from Chief Merton and staff on the department’s needs and the procurement process. Staff said 12 firms submitted proposals after 28 firms attended a mandatory site visit; three finalists — Bray Architects, Zimmerman Architects and FGM Architects — were interviewed. FGM received the highest evaluation score (84.6) and negotiated design fees of $1.764 million. Zimmerman and Bray returned lower post-interview fees, reported at roughly $1.597 million and $1.573 million respectively.

Staff presented a probable total project cost that combined construction, soft costs, a construction manager and a utility extension; the summary figure shown by staff for the project package was about $34.56 million. The presentation included a schedule that would place construction start in 2027 and completion in 2028 if the design proceeds on the timeline presented.

Trustees questioned whether that estimate was comparable to other recent projects. One trustee pointed to a public source showing a larger figure for a Fitchburg public-safety project and said, “That’s a terrifying thought that this could go up in price that much.” Brad Cropp, representing FGM, cautioned that some published figures reflect different line items and that comparing hard construction costs alone with all-in project totals can be misleading: "You're just seeing the actual cost of the building, which is pretty much in line," he said.

Trustees also debated grant eligibility and timing. Chief Merton said staff had begun looking into potential grants but emphasized that planning work typically does not jeopardize grant applications, while signing construction contracts must follow grant start-date rules.

After discussion, Trustee Baum moved to forward a recommendation for Zimmerman; the motion was seconded for discussion but failed after multiple trustees recorded abstentions. A later motion to recommend FGM also failed to carry. Chair ruled that, in the absence of a successful recommendation, the item will proceed to the village board on April 20 without a committee endorsement.

The committee’s record shows concerns driving the split vote included differing readings of comparative project costs, unanswered questions about grant timing and an upcoming turnover of trustees and village administration. The village board will consider the design-award recommendation on April 20.