FLAGSTAFF — The City of Flagstaff has decided to pursue a courthouse development project independently.
The City of Flagstaff and Coconino County jointly engaged in a Request for Information (RFI) process designed to seek ideas, leverage assets and engage the private sector for input related to a joint courthouse facility in April 2017. This process yielded 10 responses, five were further explored, but none were chosen.
In addition to the joint RFI process, the City and County contracted with Kitchell to verify initial cost estimates, provide preliminary geotechnical and environmental work and to verify that the proposed joint courthouse and related parking would fit on the existing Jail site. At the completion of the cost estimate verification, Kitchell presented a total cost of $64 million dollars for the joint project, $41.3 million of which is the City portion. The City has a total budget of $21.5 million for this project. Kitchell presented their findings to City and County stakeholders at a meeting in October 2017. City staff pursued the option with Kitchell if a value engineering exercise would result in bringing this project within the City budget. Kitchell indicated this was highly unlikely without drastic cuts in square footage and the allocation of additional monies.
“Although the City is unable to move forward on a joint project due to cost constraints, I look forward to implementing the voter’s decision to build a new city courthouse,” said Mayor Coral Evans. “We look forward to continuing our great relationship with the County and exploring other options for shared facilities and improving operational efficiencies.”
Last week, the City of Flagstaff advertised a Request for Statement of Qualifications (RSOQ) for procurement of Design-Build Contractor services. The selected Design-Build Contractor will prepare architectural/engineering plans and perform the construction for the City’s courthouse project. This will be funded using the Prop 412 funds approved in November 2016 as well as funds the city has set aside in anticipation of this project.
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County moves forward on capital projects
COCONINO COUNTY — The City of Flagstaff has decided to pursue a courthouse development project on its own. Coconino County will continue its existing work fulfilling its Facility Master Plan. The following is a statement from the Coconino County Board of Supervisors:
“The County will continue working on its Facilities Master Plan, which has a clear goal of improving access for the public by grouping services together for more one-stop service opportunities. The plan also includes incorporating additional easy drop-off locations for payments and paperwork and reduces the need for parking, uses adaptable spaces and keeps up with technological advances to allow business to be done in a different and more flexible way in the future. This plan also focuses on efficient building systems that conserve energy and water.
Although the County believes there was significant opportunity to work with the City to deliver Justice and Municipal Court services more effectively and more efficiently, the County will continue to move forward to best serve our mutual constituents. As we work to expand our facilities over the next 20 years, we will be transparent and innovative. Our goals include meeting the needs of our citizens, increasing customer service and improving efficiency. We’ve also had tremendous success working with public private partnerships in the past and will continue to look for ways to collaborate with the community to effectively use taxpayer dollars to meet those goals.
The County remains committed to the economic vitality of downtown Flagstaff, and will continue to work with business owners and regional partners including the City to look for ways in which we can collaborate on future projects.”