Municipal Building work OK’d

Part of second floor to be renovated

Another phase in the ongoing renovation of the 107-year-old Municipal Building in Fort Dodge was launched by the City Council Monday evening.

The council hired Woodruff Construction LLC, of Fort Dodge, to renovate the second floor of the west end of the building. The company will be paid $702,700.

The work will consist of repositioning offices and meeting rooms plus updating mechanical, electrical and data systems. Some asbestos and lead mitigation will also be done.

The contract was awarded on a unanimous vote with no discussion.

Other bidders for the job were Jensen Builders Ltd., of Fort Dodge, $749,900; Sande Construction and Supply Co, Humboldt, $752,184; and RoJohn Home Improvement, Fort Dodge, $920,000.

The project was designed by Allers Associates Architects of Fort Dodge.

The Municipal Building was constructed in 1914. In 2007, its future was open to debate, and a plan for building a replacement at the corner of Second Avenue South and Eighth Street was discussed.

The council appointed a Building Evaluation and Recommendation Team to advise it. In 2008, that team recommended keeping the existing building.

Since then, a series of upgrades have been completed, starting with a new roof in 2009.

The most dramatic changes occurred in 2016, when the former fire truck garage on the South Ninth Street side of the building was converted to the City Council's meeting room. An elevator was also installed in that end of the building to make both floors handicapped accessible. The crumbling stairs on the front of the building were replaced with slightly different ones that year.