SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Sandy Springs City Council amended the construction contract for a vehicle storage facility at the new Police Headquarters and Municipal Court, adding more than half a million dollars to its budget.
During its session acting as the Public Facilities Authority Oct. 15, council members approved an amendment to its contract with Reeves Young, increasing the budget by $697,000 for the new storage facility at 620 Morgan Falls Road.
The overall project, totaling more than $45 million, is expected to wrap up in March.
City staff says the project is progressing as planned and remains within budget.
Part of the project’s scope includes a new Fleet Center at 8475 Roswell Road, which is now open.
The 2025 budget set aside $475,000 for construction of the vehicle storage facility, based on earlier plans made in 2021 to locate it off Trowbridge Road. Moving it to the Morgan Falls site added roughly $222,000 to the price tag.
Dave Wells, director of facilities and capital construction, said staff pivoted away from constructing the storage building off Trowbridge due to site challenges and high costs.
A map shows a part of the Roswell Road Streetscape between Lake Placid and Northwood drives just south of I-285. The Sandy Springs City Council approved just under a $500,000 contract Oct. 15 using federal funds to install a 9-foot-wide sidewalk among other streetscape improvements.
Wells said the storage facility will be a pre-engineered metal building built in the parking lot behind the Police Headquarters, augmenting security and access. He said it also likely reduced construction costs, because the original $475,000 estimate would have surely increased had they stuck with plans for the Trowbridge site.
Wells said the funding will stay as a line item in the capital budget until it’s eventually moved into the general fund.
“This is the approval of a change order, and then the [City] Council meeting will actually have a budget amendment to move the money over from Fire Station 5, which is bond money,” he said. “We’re moving the bond money back over to the Police Headquarters.”
The change order to the contract for the Police Headquarters allows funds generated through the Public Facilities Authority’s issuance of bonds to be used for acquisition, design and construction of projects like police vehicle storage buildings.
During the City Council meeting, Wells said the transfer was made possible through an excess of funding for Fire Station 5 in the budget.
City Councilman John Paulson asked whether the $697,000 reallocation, at the exact price of the change order with Reeves Young, is a one-step move.
Chief Financial Officer Toni Carlisle said transfer moves money from one project to another.
Council members approved the change order and fund transfer unanimously.
In other business, the City Council approved a $491,000 contract with Excellere Construction for a sidepath south of I-285 along Roswell Road (Ga. 9) between Lake Placid and Northwood drives.
The project will construct 9-foot-wide sidewalks and streetscaping on the west side of Roswell Road.
Public Works Director Marty Martin said the work includes utility relocation, and his staff went with the lowest qualified bidder.
The engineer’s estimate for the project was around $554,000, suggesting city staff got a good deal.
Martin said the project is funded through the Community Development Block Grant Program, where there are adequate funds.
CDBG is a federally funded program that focuses on benefiting low- to moderate-income people and provides resources for livable neighborhoods, economic empowerment and decent housing.
The sidepath extends earlier phases of the Roswell Road streetscape already installed along the state route, Martin said.
Mayor Rusty Paul said it looks like bid figures from contractors are getting more reasonable.
“The shortage of work will help do that,” Paul said.
