Image supplied, City of North Ogden

NORTH OGDEN — Work on the planned new North Ogden Police Department headquarters building — believed to be the costliest public project ever in the city — should start by early 2022.

Parallel to that, officials are discussing implementation of a new fee homebuilders would have to pay to help fund expansion of law enforcement operations in the future.

North Ogden officials last week picked a contractor to handle the $10 million or so police department project and OK’d plans to bond to cover part of the cost. That paves the way for plans to move forward and work to begin, probably by next February, according to Mayor Neal Berube.

“This is not a want. This is a need the city has,” Berube said. Work, once it starts, should take 12 to 14 months.

The new building would be the most expensive project ever in the city, Berube thinks, and parallel to the plans, city officials have started debating implementation of a special impact fee to help generate funds to cover future public safety expansion plans. Contractors building new homes would pay the fee, similar to other impact fees they pay to help cover the cost of things like expanding the sewer systems to keep pace with growth.

Image supplied, city of North Ogden

“That has not been implemented nor has it been passed,” Berube said.

But he anticipates more discussion among city officials on the possibility of a public safety impact fee. Jon Call, the city attorney, said public hearings would ultimately be held, presuming the plans progress.

The existing police department structure at 515 E. 2600 North, adjacent to the North Ogden municipal building, is cramped and outdated and replacing it has been a focus of discussion for years. The debate intensified last year as a special committee started delving into the matter and it has been an on-and-off focus of deliberations.

The North Ogden City Council last week set the wheels in motion for construction to begin, formally selecting Big-D Construction and JRCA Architects, working as a team, to handle the work. The two Salt Lake City-based firms offered a bid of $9.6 million, beating out the only other proposal, a $10 million bid submitted by Lundahl Building Systems and Cartwright Architects and Engineers.

The City Council also approved plans at its Nov. 23 meeting to issue $6.75 million in bonds to help pay for the project, much lower than the $10.5 million bonding ceiling officials had previously set. Existing city funds will be tapped to make up the difference.

The new structure will take shape on land east and south of the existing law enforcement structure, which also houses North Ogden Justice Court offices. It’ll be much larger and more secure than the existing building and it will also contain space for city court offices.

“I think the process has been very thorough and methodical. We are now at a point where we have made all the big decisions and now the project will move very quickly,” Call said.

The police department and justice court will remain in the existing building as work on the new structure proceeds. Once complete, they’ll transfer to the new building and the old one will be demolished.

Earlier estimates had put the price of the new police department building at around $11.3 million.

Total costs connected to the new structure are now expected to come in at no more than $10.55 million and maybe less. That figure includes the $400,000 cost of acquiring property adjacent to the police department structure, where the new building will sit, and $150,000 for a new generator to serve in the event of emergencies. The $10.55 million also includes $300,000 to cover the cost of “unknowns.”

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