It has been a long time coming but it appears as though the City of Frankfort is ready to get started on two projects it has wanted to do for so long.
“As you know, it’s been a process again and I think we’re getting there,” said Frankfort Mayor Judy Sheets. “Once again, I think this is a very good way for the city to go. I think we’re going to be moving forward. I think the committee will probably move quickly as we through this process because we’re ready to break ground on the Aquatic Center and the Police Station.”
The Board of Works approved putting out a Request for Proposals on both projects Monday night. Those proposals need to be returned by October 15, with negotiations for the scope of work to be done set for October 16-29.
Sheets lauded City Attorney Les Bergum for all of his work on this first venture into the world of BOT (Build, Option, Transfer), a fairly new statute with a great track record behind it that is now being used in a lot of areas for huge projects such as the Aquatic Center and Police Station.
The cost of these two projects will be $18.5 million with the Aquatic Center being $10 million and the Police Station being the remaining $8.5 million.
Asked if she is all right with the cost, Sheets said, “I think it’s probably the best we can do right now with the cost of things and what we’ve been through. Everybody knows that COVID had an effect on the costs. It’s unfortunate. But, I think if we’re going to move forward, we’re going to have with the figures.”
Currently, the hope is to have the police station open late in 2022 or early 2023 while the aquatic center is looking at an opening in early 2023.