Council adds $3.25 million to city hall renovation project

During its March 6 meeting, the Waxahachie City Council unanimously approved a supplemental appropriation of $3.25 million from the general fund unrestrictive reserve balance for the upcoming city hall renovation project.

The additional $3.25 million will be added to the $7 million that was already included for the project in the 2022-23 budget, which was adopted Sept. 6, 2022.

Based on the assessments done by Architexas and Alana Buick and Burrs in 2022, the renovation will fix water infiltration issues, add additional office and flex space, enhance security measures, improve ADA, and reprogram spaces throughout the building. It will also focus on the building envelope and “mechanical, electrical and plumbing,” according to city staff.

The item was discussed at a city council work session Feb. 24.

“At the workshop, staff did brief council on the different renovation options as well as the construction cost based on the space planning and addressing the issues that came up in those assessments,” Richard Abernethy, director of administrative services, said. “In order to do that, the supplemental appropriation is needed to address all these items.”

Through the building envelope assessment, the terrace was found to be a main source for the water infiltration issues. Abernethy explained how there is “nowhere for the water to go” on the terrace.

“The solution recommended was to build a roofing system,” he said.

“In addition to the roof, it’s also the windows,” city manager Michael Scott said. “If you don’t push that out and finish off that veranda there, you’re still having to redo those windows, so either way, you’re having to do windows and roof.”

Council member Travis Smith questioned why there has been a large increase in the project’s budget.

“We budgeted this for a reason, and now we’re basically going 50% over that budget,” Smith said.

Scott said to “prepare the building” for the future, the additional funds were needed.

“The biggest change from the $7 million we put in the budget was so many dollars being put towards the envelope,” Scott said. “Spending this type of money, we at least have to have a dry building with proper HVAC and electrical, which were both problematic at this point – that took a large portion of the original budget. We can do it for $7 million. You’re just not going to get anything for it. You’ll have a dry building that has HVAC. You’re not going to get any additional office space. We might have a coat of paint, but that’s about it.”

Originally published March 15, 2023 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/council-adds-3-25-million-to-city-hall-renovation-project/article_2614f15e-c37c-11ed-bab8-c7f8d6a5b6f2.html