The city of Sedona will receive $1.4 million for construction projects from the recently proposed Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.
Police Station
The first project reaping the benefits of these funds is the police station’s expansion and renovation. With the Congressionally Directed Spending omnibus, $900,000 will be covered, about half the entire project costs.
Previously the city set a $1.04 million budget for the renovations, but when bids were being accepted it was clear that the project’s cost would be much beyond their initial thoughts. In November 2021, the city signed a contract with Flagstaff-based Hope Construction for the project to not exceed $1.99 million.
“This funding will expedite the renovation and remodeling of the existing site to meet the needs of the police department and serve as a small emergency operations center,” Sedona reports stated about the federally-based funding for the station.
According to city staff, as well as Sedona Police Department Chief Charles Husted, the station needs countless repairs and redesigns to upgrade the 24-hour public safety facility that has been located at 100 Roadrunner Drive since 1998.
According to the city ever since then, it has been hard to use the current 5,600 square feet to its full potential for law enforcement use.
“Some functions at the Sedona Police Department have outgrown our current facility,” Husted said. “For example, as we strive to further diversify our workforce through the hiring of additional female officers, our women’s locker room requires much needed upgrade and expansion. The coming renovations deliver important capacity building within the police department.”
The renovation will include updates to the current rooms, as well as a 1,675-square-feet expansion.
Shelby Drive Pedestrian Safety
The next project that will receive additional money from the budget bill is the Shelby Drive Business Development. This project will receive $500,000 as the overall budget for the construction is gearing up to be $2.2 million.
According to city reports, this particularly directed funding “would enable a necessary project to increase traffic and pedestrian safety in a busy corridor lacking adequate traffic lights, street lights and sidewalks.”
This project will include installation of new asphalt pavement along an approximately quarter-mile section of Shelby Drive with new concrete curb and gutter. It will provide a shared-use path with accessible ramps and driveway reconstruction. The project also includes construction of new sewer facilities.
The Shelby Drive Business Development also includes additional funding for the increased budget from an Economic Strength Projects Grant from the State of Arizona Highway User Revenue Fund, other-directed spending budgets, construction change orders from the city manager, as well as money redirected from the FY22 CIP budget and Transit Maintenance FY22 budget.
At the City Council’s next meeting on March 22, the council is voting on the consent item to raise the project’s current budget from $1.99 million to $2.2 million “in case there are other changes that become apparent as we work towards completion of the project.”
This would bring the budget up to 19.8% over the initial contract value that was approved at $1.84 million at the beginning of the project’s discussion.
Extensive delays for the Shelby Drive project have affected the progress. The current completion date is Tuesday, May 31, over a year since the construction began in the first place. The police station’s renovation is scheduled to be completed sometime in fall 2023, after construction began at the end of 2021.
The city of Sedona was made aware of these funds on March 9. Through these approved federal funds, dozens of projects across the state will be completed, including cities like Flagstaff, Lake Havasu City and Glendale.
