The Richardson City Council voted Monday to call a May 6 bond election asking voters to determine whether to raise $46 million to go toward replacing Richardson City Hall, which was made vacant last August due to fire damage.
The City Council reviewed two options regarding what to do with the building. One was to repair the facility, and the other was to construct a new one. The decision is being placed before voters due the unusual situation where repair, renovation and restoration costs would amount to an estimated 70-percent of the cost of a new building.
Currently, the cost to repair, restore and complete previously planned renovation of City Hall is estimated at $60 million. The cost to replace City Hall with a new building is estimated at $85 million. Renovation funds in the amount of $22.4 million come from a 2021 referendum in which voters approved raising money to fix a variety of security, ADA, mechanical and other issues in the current City Hall building. Renovation work was scheduled to begin this year but has been delayed due to the fire. With the current state of inflation, the project is now estimated to cost $5 million more, and cost escalation is a factor to consider in deciding the best way to move forward.
The current insurance settlement is valued at $16.5 million. The City is working with engineering and legal representatives to negotiate a fair settlement on the value of the damages to City Hall. Those negotiations are continuing with the goal to increase the settlement amount, but the results of those negotiations are not expected to conclude until this summer. The City anticipates being fully reimbursed for all fire-related damages.
If approved, the City will only sell enough debt to account for the difference between the project cost and the combination of 2021 Bond funds and insurance proceeds.
At Monday’s meeting, the City Council also officially called a general election for May 6 to elect six City Council candidates and a Mayor. Early voting begins April 24; last day to register to vote is April 6.
More information: www.cor.net/CityHallBondElection; www.cor.net/elections
Council Filing Period Closes with Four Contested Races
The filing deadline for the upcoming Richardson City Council election in May closed at 5 p.m. today. The following candidates have filed their application and petition for office, each meeting the requirements to be on the ballot. Candidate names are listed in order of filing:
Mayor, Place 7 – Bob Dubey, Janet DePuy
Council Member Place 1 – Curtis Dorian, G. Scott Waddell
Council Member Place 2 – Jennifer Justice
Council Member Place 3 – Dan Barrios, Stephen Springs
Council Member Place 4 – Joe Corcoran
Council Member Place 5 – Ken Hutchenrider, Todd Hunter
Council Member Place 6 – Arefin Shamsul
This Monday at 5 p.m. a drawing will be held to determine the order of name placement on the ballot for contested races. The drawing will be held in the Administrative Conference Room at the Richardson Police Department located at 200 N. Greenville Ave.
