Official to Urge New Bids on Police Station

Citing budget constraints, City Manager Mike Sedell said Tuesday he would recommend that the City Council reject bids for the construction of a police station and solicit new bids.

Simi Valley received seven bids, which started at $10,492,000, on Jan. 13, Sedell said.

But the city, which budgeted $10.6 million for the entire project, has already spent $126,770 to relocate utilities for the new station, said Assistant City Manager Don Penman. Even if the lowest bid were accepted, the city would have no money left for contingencies, he added.

Mayor Greg Stratton said he was disappointed that the project might be delayed, but added that a short-term delay was preferable to awarding a contract that exceeds the project’s budget.

“Our city has always maintained a fiscally responsible budget and while the City Council is also unanimous in our strong support for law enforcement, I believe that the council will agree that we can have both strong law enforcement and fiscal conservatism together in this instance,” Stratton said.

The council will consider Sedell’s recommendation at its meeting Monday. If the bids are rejected, soliciting new bids would add about 30 days to the administrative process, but should add no time to the project’s construction, Sedell said.