Frustrated; Beecher Back to the Drawing Board

By Jeff Vorva

Beecher officials are not giving up on building a new police station, but something has to give.

The price tage is still too high, even after re-bidding.

The village was set on spending close to $4 million after a $3.9 million referendum passed on the project, and original bids in 2023 came to almost $6 million.

The village balked at that, made changes from its original plan for the building to be located at 250 W. Church Street, and asked for re-bids in January.

The village and south Holland-based JMA Architects crunched numbers in February, and it was revealed at the February 26 village board meeting that the figure is down to $4.246 million, which doesn’t include optional items, such as a generator package, a camera system, and furnishings, which will jack the cost up even more.

It’s still a little too rich for Beecher’s blood.

The board will wait for final numbers at its next board meeting on March 11 before deciding a course of action.

Trustee Joe Tieri, who said items such as a camera system and generator system are important for a police facility, is frustrated with the process.

“Without trying to get too emotional and let my frustrations get the best of me, I will say that during this process, I’ve been extremely disappointed, especially with JMA,” he said. “We hired you guys to come in to consult with us and to give us a number we can give to the public.

“We did, and we busted our butts to get the vote, and we got the vote and (the bids were) over $2 million. I understand there is inflation but to hire you guys…you guys are the only company that we’re making payouts to, and it’s well over $100,000.”

Tierni said JMA is doing the work for the money, but he is “very frustrated that we have to keep going back-and-forth, back-and-forth, making cuts, and what we can have, and what we can’t have.

“I’m exhausted.”

JMA owner James Maciejewski responded.

“I appreciate your comment,” he said. “I would say that in the process of working with the village, we did put forth a budget, which would be in excess of $5 million for the project, and that was provided before we went to the original bid, and we were told to proceed.”

“At this point, we have to go back and come up with what your final numbers are,” Mayor Marcy Meyer  said. “Do we need any more meetings over this or have we cut just about everything we can cut?”

She said it’s been a long process that started in 2020.

“When we first started talking about this, it was prior to when I was elected mayor,” she said. “It was before the election, and that’s when we first started to mention the police building. That’s how long this has been. By the time you started doing the planning, it took us a year and a half or two years to get to where we put the vote up for the referendum and, all this time, the numbers changed.

“So, yeah, I’m frustrated, as well. I do see to a degree where times have changed, and prices keep going up, and it’s Catch-22, and we’re way over where we need to be.”

Maciejewski said JMA is trying to meet the village’s needs.

“From out vantage point, I understand the frustration,” Maciejewski said. “Believe me, we would like to get the project started and get moving.

“We’ve been working very hard with the contractors to try to get these numbers dialed in to something that is actionable for you, as quickly as we can.”

Meyer said there may be further committee discussion to “put our heads together to be able to do this.” 

Concert dates set

Pending some signed contracts, the village has nearly locked up bands for the summer concert series and announced the dates as June 8, July 6, August 10, and September 7.