Council says no to $33.5M safety building budget

By KRISTYN HALBIG ZIEHM

Ozaukee Press staff

PORT WASHINGTON - Port Washington aldermen on Tuesday expressed concerns about the impact a proposed public safety building would have on the city’s taxes and the long list of other capital projects they might be forced to delay before voting 4-3 not to approve a $33.5 million maximum cost for the joint police and fire station.

While many aldermen spoke of the need for the building and said it may make sense to move ahead with the project, they said the cost to taxpayers is significant.

“I’m very concerned about the impact this will have on our other needs,” Ald. Pat Tearney said. “When I’ve heard from taxpayers, they constantly will bring up the cost of this, the cost of emergency medical services, the cost of our water rate increases and they’re also facing things like increases in gasoline, increases in food costs.

“If you’re on the edge, or if you’re having trouble affording your home, this might push you over. I really have a big concern about that.”

Ald. Paul Neumyer concurred, saying, “There are a lot of people teetering on the edge here,” he said.

The city needs to also look at the impact on the community’s borrowing, Ald. Mike Gasper said.

“I’m concerned we’re pushing the boundary of our means right now,” he said.

He noted the city is already considering doing road construction on alternate years, a move that means the community will be even further behind in fixing roads that need work.

Ald. Jonathan Pleitner said he wants to pursue the public safety project, but the city may need to look at alternatives.

“It does appear $33-1/2 million is too much,” he said. “We have to look at all our options.”

The city has a long list of other capital needs that may have to be delayed or canceled if the current plans for the public safety building moves ahead.

“We’ll have to be OK with that,” Pleitner said. “I would probably look to delay or cancel some projects to lessen the impact on taxpayers.”

That discussion will likely begin as the General Government and Finance Committee meets to compile the 2025 budget later this month, he said.

“For me, it’s about making tougher decisions in the next couple weeks as we look at our capital outlay for the next two to three years to lessen the impact (on taxpayers),” Pleitner said.

Ald. John Sigwart said the Common Council should discuss the building cost with the city’s 2025 budget since it “is going to be the major impact on the budget.”

However, Ald. Dan Benning said the issue has been studied at length and, even though the cost is high, it is the price of construction today.

“Do I like the price tag that came in? Absolutely not,” he said, adding the Finance Committee and city staff members have worked to minimize the impact on taxes. “This is what the number is. It is what it is to do something like this in 2025 and 2026.

“I feel like there’s been an awful lot of analysis and optimization already.”

The cost, Benning noted, is realistic given inflation, the cost of construction materials and supply chain issues.

The cost of waiting, he added, is steep.

“Does it make sense to do that?” he asked. “Absolutely not.”

The council’s action halts progress on the facility, at least temporarily. Mayor Ted Neitzke said after the meeting that he will ask that the Common Council take up the matter again when it meets on Tuesday, Sept. 17, adding that he will also ask city staff members to gather information to address aldermens’ concerns before that session.

Neitzke noted that while no one wants to pay more in taxes, the cost for the project will increase with time.

“Every year we don’t do it, it’s going to get more expensive,” he said.

City Administrator Melissa Pingel said the matter will likely be discussed at the next Finance Committee meeting on Sept. 17.

Voting to set the maximum price for the public safety building at $33.5 million were Benning, Neumyer and Pleitner while those voting against it were Gasper, Tearney, Sigwart and Deb Postl.

Aldermen took action after a presentation by its consultants on the building project, who told them that they have made changes to the plan that would drive the initial cost estimate of $35 million to $33.5 million and allow them to seek bids during the “ideal window to bid,” Bray Architects President Matt Wolfert said.

The lower cost was achieved by trimming everything from the depth of asphalt in the parking lot to the amount of stone on the exterior walls and reducing the height of the training tower.

Ric Miller of M-C Group, the owner’s representative for the project, told aldermen not to expect any more large cuts in the cost.

“We’re getting to the end of the bigger cost reduction opportunities,” he said.