Groundbreaking for New Police Facility Planned for Tuesday

The long road toward construction of a new police facility in Northfield will get shorter on Tuesday evening.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the nearly $4.8 million facility is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the site of the new station, 1615 Riverview Drive.

The ceremony is scheduled three weeks after the City Council awarded the contract to build the facility to Faribault-based Met-Con Construction.

The Northfield News says the Met-Con’s low bid was nearly $900,000 lower than the approved budget for the project.

In a letter to the council dated May 28, Michael Clark, project manager for the DLR Group architectural firm, called bidding for the project “strong and competitive.”

“There were a total seven bids received ranging from $4,775,000 to $4,990,000 with a difference of approximately 5 [percent] from the high to the low bids; this is indicative of a strong and competitive bidding environment,” Clark writes. “The difference between the two low bids was less than $20,000, another indication of a good competitive bid.”

The letter says Met-Con will serve as the sole contractor for all portions of construction: general construction, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and site/civil trades.

The council voted 6-1 at its June 4 regular meeting to approve the contract. Councilor David Ludescher cast the lone vote against because, the News says, “financing used on the project should have been up to the public.”

Click here to read the News' story about the council meeting.

In an email sent last week to local media, Interim Police Chief Chuck Walerius says Tuesday’s ceremony will include a number of speakers and a “ceremonial ‘gold’ shovel ground breaking.”