Grimes council approves new public administration building in Waterworks Park

The Grimes City Council approved the site plan and related resolutions Tuesday to construct a new 18,200-square-foot public administration building at Waterworks Park, a project staff said will consolidate city offices, provide a resilient data center and add public-facing amenities.

"We were coming in at 8.5 million," Alex said when summarizing the construction bids and the project scope, noting the project is under the earlier higher estimates and that staff used pre-cast construction and a construction-manager-at-risk approach to control costs.

Staff described program elements that include a council chamber, public lobby with overflow capability, accessible facilities (including a changing table and a mother’s room), an improved data center for electronic services, and 121 parking spaces designed to serve both the building and the adjacent splash pad. The design team emphasized preserving mature trees on site, adding landscaping buffers for adjacent neighbors, and providing trail connections to Highway 44.

Matt, who presented bidding details, said the construction-manager method produced 12 bid packages with the total confirmed cost of $8,521,948.31, about 13% below the engineer’s estimate. Staff recommended the council hold the public hearing (no public testimony was offered) and approve the three standard resolutions to proceed. The council voted to approve the resolutions and the site plan by roll call.

Several council members asked staff to be proactive about contractor oversight and to send notices quickly if issues arise; the construction manager (Whites) said the multi-package approach helps isolate and manage ‘‘problem’’ subcontractors and that the owner's representative will monitor performance closely.

Council members praised staff for producing a fiscally conservative design that still provides operational improvements and public benefits. The project schedule anticipates a pre-construction conference in January–February and a construction start in March, with final completion targeted in 2027. Staff will return with standard construction oversight reports as work proceeds.