Alamosa City Complex

 

FAQS

City Hall Complex Issues

More than 50 years ago, the City Council of Alamosa began moving forward on a needed City Hall/Library.  They explored numerous existing buildings.  There was controversy on the City’s engine 169 (subsequently given to the Chamber of Commerce) and its future location.  Numerous designs were looked at and construction was begun in 1960.  Constructed in 1960 - 61, the City of Alamosa City Hall has served the community well for many years. The Council authorized its construction on September 14, 1960, for a total of $140,788. The building’s replacement has been a topic of discussion since at least the mid 1980’s. 

Since the passage of the Americans’ with Disabilities Act in the early 1990’s, the City Hall for Alamosa has fallen short of being accessible for many of our citizens, not just from a practical sense, but in a legal one as well.  The building originally housed the entire City operation and ambulance service.  Since that time, the City’s population has grown by 40% and the City operations have spilled out into other buildings.  While structurally sound, the building is no longer large enough for City functions, nor is it accessible for many of our citizens.

In early 2007, the City of Alamosa convened a group of citizens who reported on the state of City facilities.  The group found that the City needed to actively explore renovating/expanding or replacing the City Hall/Library/Fire Station Building.  Engineering Students from CSU also analyzed the City’s needs and determined that it was possible to reutilize the existing building to create a public safety building and construct a new City Hall/Library.  It was felt that combining police and fire into one building would be a significant help to the volunteer fire department by giving them access to full time administrative support staff.  Currently the police answer many phone calls for the Fire Chief.  This administrative support is very important to the fire department.

In early 2009, the City released and RFP for architectural services.  A citizens’ panel helped interview the firms and selected Reynolds and Associates to assist the City.  The scope of work included analyzing the existing site and determining how best to create a municipal complex.  Certain economies of scale could be realized by creating a municipal complex. 

THESE ARE NOT BID DOCUMENTS, BID DOCUMENTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER