It’s official.

Sequim City councilors approved a contract with Lydig Construction/Integrus Architecture not to exceed $11.85 million to design-build Sequim’s new police station and city hall.

They approved the decision in a Monday morning meeting unanimously along with an additional contract worth up to $200,000 for Optimum Building Consultants LLC, to continue consulting on the project through its completion tentatively set for April 29, 2015.

Councilors selected Lydig/Integrus on Dec. 9 while city staff negotiated terms the past month.

Demolition of the old city hall and the former Serenity House space is tentatively set for March.

Optimum Building Consultants, led by project manager Court Olson, will receive the new contract along with an existing $180,000 for previous work developing the design-build request for proposal, evaluating applicants and negotiating contracts. The city budgeted $350,000 for management fees and might use $30,000 from its honorarium fees to cover the overage if Olson works through the completion date.

Lydig/Integrus also was awarded contract allowances for $70,000 — $40,000 for upgrading segment of city sanitary sewer trunk line that runs underneath proposed new building, $20,000 for re-striping West Cedar Street from North Sequim Avenue to North Second Avenue and $10,000 for new trees and tree grates.

Through the building process, city councilors must make multiple decisions on alternative projects for the civic center such as adding an Emergency Operations Center in the council chambers, a visitors parking lot, upgrading the plaza and streetscape, adding an allowance for art and placing the north side utilities underground. If councilors choose to add one of these projects, other existing items in the $11.85 million budget will be adjusted to compensate.

How they got there

Lydig/Integrus was recommended to the city council over BNBuilders and Miller Hull by a committee of Mayor Ken Hays, Councilors Erik Erichsen and Laura Dubois, City Manager Steve Burkett, Public Works Manager Paul Haines and Police Chief Bill Dickinson. In an open house, residents favored Lydig/Integrus as well.

A third team, Hoffman Construction of Seattle & Belay Architecture of Tacoma, created a design but the committee ruled they were not compliant due to exceeding the city’s design budget by about $900,000.

All three design teams issued concerns with meeting the initial $11.65 million construction threshold so city councilors unanimously approved a $200,000 increase for the project on Nov. 25.

BNBuilders/Miller Hull will receive $125,000 for their design but Hoffman/Belay will not.

The overall cost for the civic center, including the land purchase and survey, is $15 million to $15.5 million, city officials estimate.

The city will pay it off with about $10.4 million in bonds and about $5 million from savings. It looks to repay the loans over 30 years for $660,000 a year with real estate excise tax for $75,000, savings from current rentals $200,000, the city’s general fund at $160,000 and the voter-approved public safety tax at an estimated $225,000 a year.

For more information on the project, call 683-4139 or visit sequimwa.gov.

Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.