Valdese council postpones decision on police and fire facilities

The goalpost for the Valdese public safety facilities has been moved once again after the town council left their answer to a years-long question up in the air of where the police and fire departments will go.

Livestream watchers of Thursday’s meeting may have missed this delayed decision when the Internet at Town Hall unexpectedly went out, leaving over an hour and a half unaccounted for. What ensued was a back-and-forth debate to an unresolved discussion.

Valdese employees and residents have watched closely the council’s wrestling match as they hired and fired architects, changed their building plans, and now have tabled the entire issue until further notice.

Mayor Charlie Watts confirmed Friday morning the discussion is on the regular council meeting agenda on Monday, Nov. 4. “The decision is up in the air,” Watts said.

The council has to determine whether they will keep the police and fire departments in their respective buildings or combine the projects. Aside from that decision, the council is moving forward with a design-build contract with a July 2025 completion date. They also have to finalize the project’s budget.

The years-long saga, dating back to 2018, began with an initial plan to renovate existing facilities. That soon changed to constructing a combined facility for the police and fire departments. Now, six years and two contract cancellations later, the council remains undecided.

In May, the council decided to move forward with the Talley & Smith Architecture to develop Phase 1 of the proposed facility. In August, the council decided to buy and renovate 215 Main St. E., the former law office of Marc Mitchell, for the police department. A new building for the fire department would be constructed at 200 Massel Ave. SW, next to Valdese Town Hall.

The council terminated the contract on Oct. 7, saying a design-build would save time and money. In that same meeting, the council appointed Roger Heavner to fill the vacant Ward 2 seat. Thursday’s workshop was meant to determine next steps but after a lengthy discussion, the council will make a decision on Nov. 4.

During the Thursday meeting, the council heard from Wharton-Smith Inc., a construction group that provided an educational presentation on the differences in design-build contracts and explained the process.

Overall, the design-builder acts as the construction manager to source out subcontractors and collaborate with the owner on their vision. The design-build can result in a more efficient construction process with streamlined communication and expedited delivery.

The council also heard from Waco Community Fire Chief Brent Gordon, who has built fire stations through this approach and is working on a substation with a rough estimated cost of $3 million.

Located in Cleveland County, the 501©(3) fire department’s 1963 building was replaced by a new metal structure. Over eight years ago, the construction of the fire department totaled $1.6 million.

Their department is funded through their county commissioners but is an independent department reporting to a Board of Directors versus a governing council like Valdese. Gordon said the town’s design-build process would be different since Valdese is a municipality.

After the presentations, Councilman Glenn Harvey suggested the council reconsider combining the facilities instead of putting more than $2 million into a 58-year-old building. He compared the facility to renovating an older home versus building one from the ground up, both theoretically at the same price.

“We have over $2 million in a building that’s 58 years old for the same amount of money or less,” Harvey said. “We could put an addition onto the town hall for the police department, plenty of room for a sally port. Or maybe even less, we could have a brand-new police and fire department here on Massel Avenue.”

He added that they could sell the Main Street building and put the proceeds toward the project.

Interim Town Manager Bo Weichel noted that should council choose to renovate the Main Street building, contractors can’t predict what they might discover. If the council moves in this direction, the project will start at the same time under the same contract versus two separate contracts.

“I’m kind of in a position where it seems that everyone that we start to trust, we find out we can’t trust them and then we move to something else,” Councilwoman Heather Ward explained. “I just don’t want to see our employees grow more and more weary because it makes our … I really wished this was in a different setting (in private) so we could have this conversation.

“I feel like the calls that I’ve been getting, are saying that we cannot keep pushing this down the road,” Ward said.

Looking at the history, Councilwoman Rexanna Lowman explained how plans have shifted:

• Renovate the former public safety building at 121 Faet St. SW.
• Build a new public safety building, designated for Pineburr Avenue.
• Purchased a building on Main Street.

“Now, we are talking about that we are going to go all the way back to the beginning and we are going to build possibly a public safety building together,” Lowman said. “Come on folks! The citizens are looking at us like, ‘You have got to be kidding me.’ We have dragged this can down the road for way too long.”

Weichel confirmed with the council that as of right now, their drafted criteria for contractors and the Request for Qualifications was a good starting point.