Vienna approves more funds for new police station, as project nears finish

It will cost the Town of Vienna nearly $300,000 more to finish construction on its new police station at 215 Center Street South.

The Vienna Town Council agreed last week to authorize spending increases of $249,310 for contractor Hoar Construction and $48,817 for project manager Downey & Scott.

However, town officials emphasized that the overall project is still on track to come in $98,913 under the $17.3 million allocated to it from bond funding and cable fees.

“The police station has several different components to it,” Vienna Director of Finance Marion Serfass said at the May 2 meeting. “Some items are under the original budget, and some are over, but in total, the entire project is under budget by $98,000.”

One of the items that has gone over budget is Downey & Scott’s contract, which was originally approved in January 2019 with a $318,950 price tag.

Hired to manage the construction process, the firm previously requested and received an additional $67,680 in October, citing a longer-than-anticipated pre-construction phase and “unknown condition incidents” that emerged after work on the site began.

Bringing the firm’s bill up to $437,897, this new increase was needed to extend the contract by 90 days, according to a memo sent to the town on April 8.

“Due to supply chain disruptions, the roofing materials, fencing, and other materials have been delayed,” Downey & Scott said in the memo, reporting that Hoar’s estimated completion date for the project is July 19.

That will be “less than a month late despite historic issues with construction materials and the supply chain,” according to town staff.

The town council approved both funding requests without any public discussion, but members said they had talked about them in a closed conference session.

“I just want the public to know we discussed this in detail,” Councilmember Chuck Anderson said. “We asked a bunch of questions, so it’s not like we’re just automatically approving it.”

Construction on the Vienna Police Department’s new building began in January 2021. When completed, the station will be approximately 30,000 square feet in size with a firing range, additional interview rooms, more personnel and storage space, and a 1,500-square-foot multipurpose room that could be used by the community, among other amenities.