SPRINGDALE -- The City Council on Tuesday approved a $34,220 contract with Buffalo Builders to serve as the construction manager for a new Senior Center. But the bond to pay for the center hasn't yet been approved by voters.
Mike Gilbert, chief operating officer of the Arkansas company, said Buffalo Builders would void the contract if the bond proposal doesn't pass. The city would owe nothing, Gilbert said.
Springdale residents will vote May 9 on a $360 million bond issue that will include up to $16.3 million for a new Senior Center.
The proposed Senior Center would have double the space of the current center -- from 20,000 to 40,000 square feet, said Lori Proud, director of the Senior Center.
Gilbert said the company approached the city about the job, and the Buffalo bid was chosen.
Gilbert said the company agreed to work with the city for several reasons.
He said the voters need qualified construction estimates before they go to the polls.
"I think the Senior Center is an important project," Gilbert continued. "I'm 63."
He added, "And, personally, I'm invested in downtown."
Buffalo Builders' office is on Emma Avenue, and Gilbert lives downtown. The company worked to renovate facades of historical buildings downtown as well.
Buffalo has a strong working relationship with Core Architects of Springdale, which designed the new Senior Center, Gilbert said. The companies have completed several projects together and can "read between the lines" of drawings not yet complete, he said.
The city in September hired Core to design the center for $660,000, paid from the city's general fund.
The construction manager also designs the schedule for construction based on availability of subcontractors and parts, Gilbert said.
If a part will not be available for months, Buffalo would reschedule its installation, approve a substitute part or an interim part installed to do the job until the preferred part becomes available.
Gilbert noted the city wants to begin construction soon after the election, if the voters approve the bond. The city wants the exterior construction completed before winter. "So we're not trying to put a roof on in January," he said.
Colby Fulfer, the mayor's chief of staff, confirmed city officials want to be ready to move forward with construction soon after residents vote.
Spending money on design work for the Senior Center in September was a bit of a gamble for the city because voters wouldn't be asked to approve the bonds until May, said Mayor Doug Sprouse when the architect was hired.
Sprouse said he needed plans and cost estimates to show the voters.
Proud said the Senior Center sees 100 to 150 people in and out each day. The center's kitchen prepares 300 hot meals a day for Meals on Wheels.
The new, two-story center would sit on East Emma Avenue in the strip of land between The Jones Center and the old Washington school building. The city in November bought two houses on the land for a total of $500,000 to make space for the new Senior Center.
The current Senior Center sits a block south and across the street from Luther George Park, currently under construction.
The land where the Senior Center now sits will be open for new development, said Patsy Christie, director of the city's Planning Department.
The plan calls for an open gathering place, meeting rooms of various sizes, outdoor gathering areas and pickleball courts.
In other business, the City Council:
Approved a $150,000 contract with Downtown Springdale Alliance to promote, preserve and enhance Downtown Springdale and help in the implementation of the Downtown Master Plan.
Agreed to pay $65,000 for property needed for extension of the Don Tyson Parkway west to Arkansas 112. Dennis C. Richards and Glenda Richards own the property.
Scheduled a hearing at 6 p.m. May 9 for public comment to vacate a portion of West Emma Avenue for the Har-Ber Avenue extension project.