FORT SMITH -- U.S. Marshals Museum officials are making changes to the museum's design to save money and keep the project within budget.
Estimates on the cost of constructing the 50,000-square-foot museum on the banks of the Arkansas River were higher than expected, and unsuitable soil around and under the building will have to be removed to a depth of 16 feet and replaced, an expense that wasn't initially anticipated, museum President and CEO Patrick Weeks said after the board of directors' quarterly meeting Tuesday.
Weeks reported in October that the estimate on the construction cost was $33.8 million, up from the initial estimate of $25.3 million in 2009. He attributed the increase to inflation.
The board voted Tuesday to authorize board member Rick Griffin to amend the contract with Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects to reduce its fees for the project.
Weeks said the reduction in fees is possible because the design of the building was simplified. Most notable is the lowering of one of the five points of a marshals badge that forms the roof. Reducing the height of the point from 102 feet to 40 feet will leave less space to heat and cool, Weeks said.
He also said the building had a few 90-degree angles that complicated the design. New drawings address those issues.
Weeks said he expected the dirt work to be done this summer. He said he would seek the board's approval in May to go forward with the work.
The problem with the soil is that the area was the dump site for debris -- concrete, lumber and steel -- from a 1996 tornado that swept through the Fort Smith area. The debris was dumped on the site as landfill and covered.
Experts concluded after examining 20 core samples that the soil had to be replaced. Then it will need about four months to settle before further work can be done on the site, Weeks said.
Chief Financial Officer Randy Philpot told board members that an increase in pledge fulfillment will allow the museum to make payments on the dirt work.
He said donation pledges that have been paid totaled $14.8 million as of February. In the next four or five months, he said, he expected the amount to rise to $18 million to $20 million.
The total project, including construction, endowment, furniture, fixtures, equipment, contingencies and first-year operating costs, is estimated at $58.6 million. So far, $34.4 million has been raised, Philpot said.
State Desk on 03/16/2017