Wright City’s planned new government building might be more of a work in progress than a dream home when employees eventually move in.City officials met with engineers and the architect Friday, March 3, to discuss final tweaks to plans for renovating the former Assembly of God Church on Westwoods Road as the new city hall. The project will be sent out for bids this week.Officials also reviewed plans for an adjoining baseball park with concession stand, as well as a renovation of the current city building for the sole use of Wright City Police Department.A site plan for the park and new city hall property were approved at the Feb. 23 Wright City Board of Aldermen meeting.Through meetings with engineering firm Cochran and architectural firm JEMA, city officials have learned that their budget likely won’t cover everything on their wish list.“There are going to be some things that have to come in the future,” said Kurt Daniels of Cochran. “We’re maxed out.”Finalizing the plans has involved looking for ways to reduce costs. For example, the city will purchase or provide furniture separately, rather than having it built in or supplied by the project’s general contractor. That will allow the city to avoid contractor markups. Purchases of other equipment could be put off for later years, but water, power and data lines will be installed in preparation for those future additions.When the project goes out to bid, JEMA architect Jon McKee said there will be five major items for the city hall and park listed as alternates — optional pieces to be bid on separately from the main project.The alternates are:• A new shingle roof. “Nothing I’ve seen has indicated that it’s in immediate need of replacement, but I think at this point it makes sense to get a number,” McKee said.• Renovation of the new city hall’s upper level. The base plan won’t include any demolition or new finishes for existing officers on that level, but they are in a functional layout as-is, McKee noted.• A concession stand for the adjoined baseball park. “A concession stand I just had come in was ... significantly higher than we anticipated,” said Cochran engineer Andrea Lohmeyer. Daniels added that prices for similar constructions have increased considerably in recent years.• Concrete paving for the parking lot. Concrete is desirable because it is more durable than asphalt, but is also more expensive, Daniels said.• Dugouts for the two planned baseballs fields.When bids come back, Wright City officials might decide they can’t afford one or more alternates. Those could be left out of the initial project, with groundwork laid for future renovation or construction. Smaller changes also could be made to the plans.“We just have to get the bids back, and then we can cut, crop and do what we need to do,” said Mayor David Heiliger.Renovation plansThe new city hall will feature improved security compared to Wright City’s current government offices. Based on building plans discussed during the meeting, the front lobby will be separated from the workspace of city clerks by a wall and a series of sturdy clerk windows. The lobby will be separated from the interior of the building by a set of secure doors that require a city-issued badge to open.The Wright City Board of Aldermen’s meeting chamber will be in the former church assembly chamber. The aldermen’s dais will be placed on a raised platform at the front of the chamber. The desks of city officials and a public podium will be supplied with microphones, power and data connections.McKee said computers at each position could connect to a large television display above the dais (the city would supply the TV). During a previous meeting officials discussed whether a projector system would be more cost-effective, but McKee said TVs have become cheap enough that the cost difference is negligible.Other areas on the main level of the city hall will include a break room with a full kitchen and a record storage room, the walls of which will be built to withstand a fire for two hours, McKee said.The upper level of the building will be used as office space.Once initial work at the new city hall is complete, a lower level space will be converted into a temporary police station while the current city building is renovated. Once the police department can move back to its updated offices, the lower level of the new city hall will house public works employees, McKee said.Work on the city police station will include an alternate bid to replace the existing roof. Inside the building, a new lobby entry will be constructed with a bulletproof wall and clerk window. A city badge will be required to pass through a security door into the rest of the building.Crews will knock down some walls and remove the current aldermen’s dais, but will leave much of the internal structure intact to be more cost-efficient, McKee said. All interior ceiling tiles will be replaced due to age and water damage, he added.The construction and renovations will be paid for by a $1.5 million bond issue approved by voters in April to alleviate crowding in government offices and provide more park space. The 10,000-square-foot church building and attached 4.5-acre property were purchased in September for $320,000.Updates on the projects frequently are included during Wright City Board of Aldermen meetings. The board holds public meetings the second and fourth Thursday of each month, 6:30 p.m. at Wright City Hall. Meeting dates this month are March 9 and March 23.Wright City city hall site