The Jefferson City Council soon will review a contract for the municipal court renovations, which could begin next month.
The city received bids for the project in late April and currently is working with the apparent low bidder on the construction cost, City Counselor Ryan Moehlman said.
The Jefferson City Council may review the contract May 21 and vote on it June 4.
If approved, construction would begin in June with anticipated completion in November.
The municipal court operates out of the council chambers at City Hall, 320 E. McCarty St. Once construction is complete, the court will move to the city annex on Monroe Street.
While the bids were generally where city staff expected them to be, Moehlman said, the new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system cost more than expected. So city staff is looking to cut costs in some other areas of the project.
Staff originally planned to salvage some parts of the current HVAC system but decided to replace it fully.
"The current HVAC system over at that building is starting to get to its end of useful life, and so we decided that the best thing to do was to just do a total replacement of the HVAC system and just do it right the first time as opposed to trying to cobble together a mixed system which had old and new components," Moehlman said.
The new municipal court will have offices for prosecutors and judges, benches for judges and clerks, updated bathrooms, an assigned waiting area, security area, transaction desk and private consultation room.
The new courtroom will have an updated look with a seating capacity of 120 people. The current courtroom seats about 100, and Moehlman said it's common for it to fill up.
Moehlman and The Architects Alliance, which the city hired to design the renovations, hope to improve municipal court efficiency and address safety concerns.
"Our municipal court days bring in a real large volume of people, and the current City Hall, it really doesn't handle that large volume of people when you have a bunch of folks in to do court and then a bunch of people in City Hall trying to do other types of business - business licensing and permits and all those other things people come to City Hall for," Moehlman said. "It kind of slows down and makes our overall operations less efficient by having this combined, so moving the court over should help the customer experience both here at City Hall and for the municipal court."
The renovation expenses ranged from $303,100-$438,660, depending on the HVAC system replacement, Architects Alliance representatives Abigail Steck and Cary Gampher have said previously.
The City Council approved a $500,000 supplemental appropriation in October for the project. This is to cover the cost of the project and any unexpected expenses, Moehlman said previously. If there is a remaining amount after the project is complete, the rest of the allotment would go toward other capital improvement projects.
The appropriation does not include security or staff, as those expenses come from the municipal court operating budget.
Before moving to The Linc on Lafayette Street, the Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department used to operate out of the upper floor of the city annex. The city's Fire Department administration is in the basement of the building and will remain there after renovations.