-Topics-
-Work Session-
Attendance
Present: Mayor Slack, Council President Briggs, Councilors Barrientos, Blosser, Fitzgerald, Holsapple, Jantz, Schilling, Shein, and Spivey.
Absent:
Police station value engineering report
Four building options were presented to the Council as they prepare to ask the public again to finance a Police building. A design team from Mackenzie and Swinerton presented the new options and explained differences between each.
- Get caught up on past Council discussions of this topic:
- Nov. 17, 2025 – Wrap Up
- July 21, 2025 – Wrap Up
While the original 2 story building option is still available, Councilors saw 3 additional options to choose from. New options include a 3 story building, a 3 story building with a 3rd floor shell (for future expansion), and a smaller 2 story building.
Council President Briggs asked about the estimated inflation rate being used in the numbers. The team is adding a rate of 4.5% inflation annually in the estimates. The numbers presented now are based on a 2027 construction start date.
Costs for the original 2 story building presented in May 2025 was at $17.3 million. Due to inflation that same building now tops out at $18.4 million. The new 3 story building comes in at $17.1 million, while the 3 story with a shell lands at $16 million. The smallest 2 story option rests at $14.3 million.
Why is the 3 story building less expensive than the original 2 story building?
It’s due to the layout of the buildings. The original 2 story building had the 1st and 2nd floor rotated on top each other. That L shaped layout created a secure and partially covered parking area for Police vehicles but increased the building costs.
The 3 story building has stacked floors with uncovered parking in the back of the property. The stacking of the floors offers a cheaper overall cost compared to the L shape of the original 2 story building.
Long term maintenance costs would be higher on the original 2 story building due to its L shape having more exterior surface. The 3 story building has less exterior surface meaning lower long term maintenance costs.
Another reason for a lower cost is due to the use of Mass Timber construction. This means more locally sourced and produced materials can be used. Buying local also avoids having to pay the extra costs from tariffs.
Did you know? The new OpenRoad office building in Dallas, Oregon is a recent example of a Mass Timber building.
Councilor Schilling asked if the team used the upcoming 2026 building codes. The design team confirmed the new codes were used in these plans.
Council President Briggs wondered if there was anything about this specific site (the Itemizer-Observer property) that was driving up costs. While each site has their own individual oddities, this site did not present anything that stood out to the design team.
A short discussion between the design team, Council President Briggs, Councilor Schilling, and the City Manager centered on an alternative single story building at a different location.
On this hypothetical, with empty and ready to build land there would be no demolition costs. A larger foundation would be needed due to the increased footprint of a single story building. A larger larger roof size (and future replacement costs) would also result from this type of building. The design team explained that single story buildings also tend to have a shorter overall life spans.
The City Manager stated this scenario (a single story building on a new plot of land) means trading off lower upfront cost for higher back end costs with maintenance.
Council President Briggs noticed the per square foot cost of all building options were on average with other Oregon city buildings.
The design team pointed out 1 unique feature of the 3 story building. To create visual symmetry, the wall with the garage door leading to parking in the back will be a “false wall”. The portion of the 2nd floor above the garage door will also be staged. A “false wall” give visual continuity, but there is no floor space present.
While the various building sizes and layouts offer advantages and disadvantages, Councilors will need to narrow down their choices soon.
What happened? The Council heard information from the design team on new building options and layouts. No official action took place.
-City Council-
Attendance
Present: Mayor Slack, Council President Briggs, Councilors Barrientos, Blosser, Fitzgerald, Holsapple, Jantz, Schilling, Shein, and Spivey.
Absent:
Introductions, Recognitions, Proclamations
A new employee of the Public Works department was introduced to the Council. Joshua was hired as a facilities foreman for the city. Previously, Joshua worked in facilities for Salem Health.
Public Comment
- President of Friends of the Dallas Aquatic Center
- Was recently featured on the City of Dallas Podcast
- The lighting project completed recently
- Ended up costing more than originally planned
- 4 banner ad payments have been received so far
- Generating about $2,000
- Gave the city $7,340.44 check to put into the pool fund
- $2,000 came from users of the pool
- Feels supported by the community and local businesses
- Never knows what will break and become the next project
- Spa pump recently broke and it is now the next project
- Asked if the city wants to contribute to the repair
- Suggested it would make a good Christmas gift to the pool
- Asked if the city wants to contribute to the repair
- Spa pump recently broke and it is now the next project
Consent Agenda
The consent agenda is used to pass procedural items. If any Councilor has a question, or wants to discuss something, they can pull the item to discuss.
What’s on the consent agenda?
- November 2025 Financial Report
- November 17, 2025 Work Session Minutes
- November 17, 2025 City Council Meeting Minutes
- December 1, 2025 Work Session Minutes
- December 1, 2025 City Council Meeting Minutes
What happened? This passed unanimously.
Mayor and council Reports
Council President Briggs thanked the Friends of the Dallas Aquatic Center. “Without them, we would be in trouble maintaining that. It’s fantastic.” Councilor Shein also stated agreement.
City Manager report
None.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
An executive session allows the Council to meet and discuss a topic that is closed to the public. This executive session was regarding the following topic: “review and evaluate the employment-related performance of the chief executive officer of any public body.”
-More Information-
- Work Session full agenda
- Work Session YouTube video archive
- City Council full agenda
- City Council YouTube video archive
