By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
The City of Elkhorn Common Council voted unanimously in favor of executing a contract with Bray Architects for the Elkhorn Area Fire Department Station need analysis/study at its Sept. 16 meeting.
The motion to approve by Alderman Ron Dunwiddie, seconded by Alderman Peter Harvey, included the stipulations that the cost not exceed the proposed $36,500 and that approval was contingent on the contract’s final review and approval by City Attorney Elaine Ekes.
Alderman Gary Lee Payson Jr. asked where the money would come from to pay for the study, and City Administrator Adam Swann said up to $40,000 was approved in the 2024 budget for the study.
The motion received unanimous support from councilmembers.
Included in the council’s packet with the contract was a document from Bray Architects outlining the project approach, including five steps: project initiation, needs assessment, conceptual plan and budget development, option/solution refinement, and final report/recommendation.
According to Bray, the project initiation phase would establish communication channels and set the overall process in motion with a kick-off meeting, while also finalizing the timeline, organizing the team and identifying any additional partners that might be needed, conducting initial space needs discussions, and scheduling on-site facility assessments.
During the needs assessment phase, Bray Architects will document the building infrastructure, envelope, site and ADA needs, including an engineer evaluation of HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, as well as site conditions such as parking lots, drive sidewalks and more.
Bray also noted that space needs will be evaluated through collaborative meetings to identify the size and quantity of spaces needed, while also undertaking a “benchmarking exercise” with other regional communities that are of the projected size Elkhorn is planning towards to validate the size and quality of spaces.
In the third phase, previous efforts will be translated into conceptual site and floor plans, at first adjacency sketches and then more refined site and floor plans with rooms, corridors, shared spaces and more identified. As the plans are developed and refined, Bray said it will create a preliminary project description outlining the goals for quantity and quality not yet identified in preliminary plans, which will guide its team in developing and refining budgets for each option explored.
According to Bray, if options to remain at the current site are explored and determined to be unfeasible during this phase, the firm will explore two potential new sites including conceptual site plan and budget development.
Once the city’s preferred site and floor plan has been determined, Bray said it will create final plans and updated budgets and assist the city in presenting them to the City Council.
Moving on to the fourth phase, Bray will take the council’s feedback into consideration and work with city departments to refine the proposed plans and budget to align with what will be supported by the council, updating the preliminary design, bidding and construction timeline as needed.
In the final phase, Bray will present the final report to the city council and the broader community, while also assisting the city in determining what the next steps are.
For the full story, please see the print edition of the Elkhorn Independent.
