Architectural agreement for Koopman Lane addition approved by committee 3-0; utilities director said addition greatly needed
By Kellen Olshefski
SLN Staff
The City of Elkhorn Finance and Judicial Committee voted in favor of an architectural agreement with Angus-Young and Associates for the addition to the City of Elkhorn Utilities building on Koopman Lane Monday night.
City Administrator Sam Tapson said Monday the city is not going through its standard process of sending the project out for bids or quotes for two main reasons: there just simply isn’t enough time if the city wants to apply for the Safe Drinking Water Loan for the project and the firm is highly familiar with the building already.
Tapson said if the city were not interested in following through with the addition, he would suggest not going through with the agreement, as it sets the city up for the Safe Drinking Water Loan, which it might not even take at the end of the day. However, with tight time constraints, if it were to opt against it, the loan could no longer be an option.
Alderman Tom Myrin asked Utilities Director John Murphy his opinion on rushing the process and the need of the addition, noting he’s not happy about simply assigning services to Angus-Young without giving other local architects a shot, though he understands the tight timeline.
Murphy said Monday it’s important to keep in mind the building is subject to a condo agreement in which Alliant Energy owns two-thirds of the building, holding the majority voting power. Murphy said Alliant Energy is strongly recommending the use of Angus-Young, which built the original building and knows what is required to meet the standards of the review by the condo association.
In theory, Tapson said Alliant Energy could then in turn reject anyone the city suggests for the project anyways.
“Angus-Young is actually giving you a pretty good deal,” Murphy added. “They know what’s required, they know what the outsides going to look like, they know what the insides going to look like to get it passed through the review board.”
As for the need, Murphy said it’s strongly needed and will house much more than the vehicles used by the water department.
Murphy said a six-bay garage in the original plans for the Northeast Water Treatment Plant would have housed all of the department’s vehicles and provide a site for a break-room and office.
Murhpy said when the water department came under his supervision, it didn’t make sense to have half of his crew at the Koopman Lane building and half of his crew up at the treatment plant.
“So, it was a no-brainer,” he said. “Just pull it out of there, build it down here, let’s operate under one roof, under one supervision.”
Additionally, Murphy said the addition would house all of the inventory, the city’s full lab and its water test bench.
“So, it needs to happen, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
A motion to approve the agreement was passed unanimously by the committee.
