Council OKs $31.8M safety building borrowing

Plans for Port Washington’s new public safety building are moving ahead quickly, with aldermen on Tuesday approving the last in a series of steps needed to borrow funds for the construction of the joint police and fire station and a groundbreaking set for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 6.

The city has also reached a verbal agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation that will allow the city access to the site of the new building from both highway 33 and LL.

“Good news came last week,” Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said of the agreement.

The DOT, he said, originally sought $210,000 for the access rights for the property but negotiations brought that price down significantly.

“We negotiated it down to $3,000 and a turn lane,” Vanden Noven said. “We’ll be happy to pay $3,000 for access to our site.”

The $3,000 is the amount the DOT paid for an appraisal to determine access rights to the almost seven-acre site, he said.

The DOT also requested the city install a left-turn lane on eastbound Highway 33 to allow for easy access to the site, Vanden Noven said.

“We anticipated doing that anyway,” he said, noting it will be part of the Highway 33 resurfacing work expected to be done as early as next year.

“We don’t anticipate a lot of traffic going in there,” Vanden Noven added.

In negotiating the access price, Vanden Noven said he pointed out that the previous appraisal for the access rights was done for a convenience store and gas station, not a municipality.

“My argument as access to the property means a lot more to a business,” he said. “We’re obviously going to have a lot fewer vehicles turning than they would have, and they aren’t going to compromise safety.”

On Thursday, April 17, the Plan Commission is expected to recommend to the Common Council a proposed rezoning for the site, which is currently designated for business development. The new zoning would be for public and utility lands.

As these items are moving ahead, the project is moving ahead in other ways as well.

On Tuesday, aldermen approved the final step needed for a $31.8 million borrowing to pay for not just the public safety building but also a $1 million pumper truck with an anticipated interest rate of 4.1%.

The debt service is structured around the city’s existing debt service to try and  minimize the impact, Carol Wirth of Wisconsin Public Finance Professionals, told aldermen earlier this month.

The impact on taxes is expected to be $1.02 per $1,000 in assessed value, or $306 annually for the owner of a house valued at $300,000.

Vanden Noven said C.D. Smith is in the process of finalizing agreements with subcontractors for the $31.9 million project.

In a memo to the Common Council, he noted that tariffs are not expected to impact the cost of the building.

Although the city is poised to hold the groundbreaking on May 6, Vanden Noven noted that grading will likely begin in earnest around mid-May.

“We’re on track to have the site graded and have utilities start going in the ground in June,” he said, adding that the foundation may also be poured in June.

The intent, he said, is to have the building fully enclosed by winter so construction can continue throughout the season.

“It’s going to go quickly,” he said. “By the end of next year, we’ll have the water plant done, the wastewater treatment plant done and a new public safety building.”