Brenham police had hoped that by now they would have moved out of their cramped and moldy police station and into a new 23,000-square-foot building.

Those hopes have long passed.

Now, two years after voters approved a multi-million dollar bond package to fund construction of a new police station, city officials said they are reworking their construction plans in hopes of reducing costs and speeding up the process.

At special meeting Tuesday, the Brenham City Council voted to terminate its contract with Vanguard Contractors, a Temple-based company hired to build the station. City officials said they hope to hire a new contractor within 60 days.

"The project seemed to kind of bog down, and I am not sure why," said city spokeswoman Angela Hahn.

City officials said they fired the company after it provided a final cost estimate of $7.3 million, over $2 million more than what officials expected to pay.

"It is virtually impossible to fund this project [at that cost]," said Assistant City Manager Kyle Dannhaus, who is leading the project for the city.

He said that city officials agreed that they could find someone to build the project for less.

"It is just an overall problem throughout their whole bid," Dannhaus said. "The construction economy and costs have gone up, but not this much."

City officials estimate that it will take more than a year to complete the new station.

City leaders began to plan for a new police station about five years ago after mold was found in the old building on Chappell Hill Street, Brenham Police Chief Glen Fowler said.

The department was moved three years ago into the old City Hall on Park Street, which had previously been abandoned by city government because of its own mold problems. The building received some renovation, but officials said the move was to be temporary.

"I think the original plan was to move in there for about a year and a half," Fowler said.

The police chief said that the current location was designed to be an office building -- not a police station -- and poses several logistical problems.

For instance, officers use the third floor, which is otherwise vacant, to interview suspects.

"It is better when you have a suspect interview to at least have other officers in the vicinity in case something happens," Fowler said. "It is kind of an isolated area and you have to do checks on the officers to see if it is OK."

He said employees of the police department are also concerned that the building is unsafe. The building has leaks and parking issues, city officials said.

"A lot of the employees are worried still about the current building," Fowler said. "They worry that mold still exists and they are working in a building that is potentially dangerous."

Officials said they hope the new building, which will be constructed on city property at the intersection of F.M. 389 and U.S. 290, will be able to hold the police department for at least 20 years.

However, breaking ground on that building has been an elusive goal, officials said.

A committee created by the City Council to oversee the project decided to use a "construction manager at risk" method to fund the project, in hopes of keeping prices down, instead of following the usual bid process used for other city projects.

Under that method, a design for the building was created and then a contractor was hired and given a maximum price that it could spend.

The city hired Vanguard with the hope of keeping the price under $5 million, city officials said. After about six weeks, the expected price was about $5.5 million.

"[City officials] felt like it was within budget and they could get it down to what they needed to and everything was great," Hahn said.

Two weeks ago, the contractor provided its final estimate of $7.3 million, and the City Council terminated the contract.

City officials said they understand that transportation and construction costs have gone up in the past few years, but they expect that they can find a cheaper price.

If not, the city will have to look at a less expensive design or attempt to allocate more money in the budget, city officials said.

"I don't want to even speculate on that," Hahn said when asked what would happen if the city could not find a cheaper builder.

The city has abandoned its construction manager at risk method and will go back to the more traditional method of soliciting bids from contractors. An unfamiliarity with the construction manager at risk method caused delays in addition to the high cost, officials said.

Dannhaus said the city hopes to be ready to begin accepting bids in a couple of weeks and could break ground on the building within the next two months.

It has been a frustrating delay, said Fowler, the police chief, but the results will be worth the wait.

"We are optimistic," he said. "This has taken longer than anyone hoped it would, and nobody more than the police department wants to see this move forward, but we do want to be responsible to the taxpayers and make sure that they are getting their money's worth."

• Matthew Watkins' e-mail address is matthew.watkins@ theeagle.com.

Comments

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6 comment(s) found!

Posted by: On: 7/15/2008

Comment Title:
maybe thay could get bluebell to sponsor them. bluebell could pay for a new bulding and the cops could give out ice cream sandwiches instead of beating minorities Your Stupid!

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Posted by: On: 7/14/2008

Comment Title:
maybe thay could get bluebell to sponsor them. bluebell could pay for a new bulding and the cops could give out ice cream sandwiches instead of beating minorities.

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Posted by: Brenham PD supporter On: 7/14/2008

Comment Title: City Of Brenham
What about the condition of the Citys Animal Shelter? Its falling apart. Talk about beign the red headed step child. The Police Dept needs the new building. Hurry up and get it done.

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Posted by: On: 7/14/2008

Comment Title:
Wow!! If I had my employees under those same conditions OSHA would be fining me or worse, shutting my business down. And that would be the least of my worries. I would be worried about the lawsuits over health conditions. Must be nice to be the Government!!

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Posted by: On: 7/14/2008

Comment Title: Brenham Police Department
It is unfortunate that the men and women who put their lives on the line each day have to work in such deplorable conditions. What is it going to take for the City of Brenham to realize that the members of the Brenham Police Department deserve more than to be constantly put on the back burner? I hope they are at least providing them with adequate health insurance!

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Posted by: On: 7/14/2008

Comment Title: Brenham Police
It is clear that the City of Brenham does not care very much for its police department. They moved city hall out of one building because it was too moldy and moved the police department into that same building. Not only did city hall employees get a newer building but they also got new furnature!! The police department continues to be the step children of the city. As long as a blue uniform shows up when someone calls for help that is all that matters. Of course that officer will have lungs full of mold but so what!

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