Remodeling the Wells Fargo building

City Council looks to trim costs

The layout of a proposed new City Hall at the old Wells Fargo building should be re-examined to see whether the remodeling job could be done cheaper, Kalispell City Council members said Monday.

This stance came from the council learning July 17 that the proposed $800,000 remodeling cost likely would increase to $1.2 million or $1.3 million, according to its latest architectural estimate.

"You've given us a Cadillac instead of a Volkswagen. … Bring us back the Volkswagen," Mayor Pam Kennedy said.

On July 17, architect Chad Grover of Whitefish told the council that remodeling costs for the old Wells Fargo building, 201 First Ave. E., would increase.

The reasons are that the bank doesn't have enough first-floor cubicles to serve the city's purposes, and expanding them would require changes in walls. Also the building's heat-and-cooling system needs to be upgraded to meet city codes, and the building is not accessible to the handicapped.

The city government wants to eliminate using three leased offices scattered across downtown, and consolidate most City Hall functions in the Wells Fargo building. Meanwhile, the police and fire departments would expand inside the current City Hall.

These moves were supposed to take place this fall - a deadline that won't be made.

With the cost increases, the city government can forget about the move, accomplish as much as it can with $800,000, or borrow money to complete the project.

Several council members Monday appeared to lean toward making some or all of the move. However, a couple suggested selling the Wells Fargo building and constructing a new City Hall somewhere else from scratch.

The biggest factor in pushing for a move soon is that construction costs likely would increase again if the move were delayed, council members said.

However, they want either Grover or another expert to see whether a cheaper layout can be used.

Also, council members fretted that no plans or cost estimates have surfaced on how the current City Hall would be remodeled to allow more room for the police and fire departments.

City Manager Jim Patrick did not anticipate major structural changes in the current City Hall.

The increased remodeling-cost estimate upset council members, because the city has paid $1.2 million to buy the Wells Fargo building.

Part of the extra $400,000 to $500,000 is due to construction costs increasing between 20 percent and 25 percent since this past year. Patrick said that increase is much bigger than typical cost increases.

Kennedy, who works in the construction business, said those costs did increase between 20 percent and 25 percent. But she added that a 20 percent increase accounts for only $160,000 of the extra $400,000 to $500,000. "That's pretty substantial," she said of the difference, which could reach $340,000.

The extra money likely would be borrowed from a financial institution or another city fund.

One suggested source was the $1.2 million that the city earned from selling the old Montana National Guard armory in May to a hotel developer. But some council members were leery about borrowing from one city program to pay for another, and then hoping they could repay the original fund in a timely manner.

Although the decision has not been made formally, the armory's $1.2 million tentatively has been expected to fund construction of a community center, if a study committee decides that Kalispell should do it.

Also on Monday, the council:

. Told Patrick to write a letter to the state to support building the southern half of the U.S. 93 bypass first. No votes were legally allowed at Monday's workshop session and the deadline for input is Aug. 2. Consequently, the letter will be kept for a while at City Hall. Any council members who want to sign it can do so individually.

At least five council members - through their remarks and nodding their heads at others' comments - indicated they support building the southern half first.

. Told Patrick to draft a policy that would require emergency services workers to live within a specific distance or travel time of Kalispell. For other job slots, residency would be a tie-breaker among equally qualified candidates. Current employees would be exempt from the proposed policy.

Court decisions limit how much control a that city government has over where its employees live.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com.