(The Center Square) – Anticipating dozens of new recruits, the Spokane Valley City Council will vote on Tuesday over awarding a contract to remodel its police precinct for over $300,000 less than budgeted.
The project will retrofit the precinct to accommodate 10 new hires that the council funded last year as part of a recommendation from consultants in 2023 to expand the Valley’s force by 28 officers. Voters also approved a tax hike last week to fund the next round of recruits, which the city will hire by 2027.
The Valley still needs to secure ongoing funding for the final round of new hires, but will have to make space for the first 10 before then. The city went out for bids in June, with one including the minimum work required to accommodate those first ten officers, and two others that could take care of them all.
City staff received four bids from different contractors, with one standing out among the competition.
“The lowest responsive, responsible bidder is Leone & Keeble Inc. with a combined bid of $511,005,” according to the agenda. The low bid was $208,995.00 under the Engineer’s Estimate of $720,000.”
Leone & Kibber Inc. bid the project at nearly 30% under the city engineer’s estimate before taxes. After taxes and other fees, it’ll come out to about $556,000, more than $100,000 less than the closest competition.
The city allocated $1.37 million for the whole project as part of the 2025 budget, and now will have about $308,000 left over in contingency in case it ends up costing more than anticipated. Other than the $511,000 for construction, another $105,000 went toward architecture and engineering, around $183,500 will cover sales taxes and other fees, with $270,000 devoted to furniture and workstations.
The minimum work to accommodate the first 10 officers includes moving the Spokane Valley Police Department’s forensics team to a new location, converting the old forensics and traffic spaces into room for the investigative unit, modifying the existing investigative space for patrol, shifting traffic to the old patrol area, removing 40 extra lockers from the men’s locker room to create room for a gym expansion, relocating those lockers to the women’s locker room, and building a secure storage area.
The alternate bids, which Leone & Kibber Inc. estimates included, would demolish the Valley’s holding cells to accommodate other hires recommended in 2023. The other option would involve tearing down an office and vestibule in the patrol area to expand and make it more efficient for the traffic team.
If the council awards the contract to Leone & Kibber Inc. on Tuesday, the plan is to start construction next month, with it wrapping up around the start of next year and furniture installed as it’s ongoing.
“Since the Precinct will remain an occupied facility 24/7, it is necessary to split the work into two phases of construction,” according to the agenda. “Management will temporarily relocate staff as needed so that one area can be remodeled, and then staff will move into that area when completed.”
