City council members will hear March 2 from possible architects for PBPD

Poplar Bluff City Council are expected to hear a proposal March 2 from an architectural firm which may be selected for the design of a new police department.

Proposals from seven firms were discussed during Tuesday night’s meeting.

The proposals were received after a Jan. 13 request for qualifications was advertised, city manager Mark Massingham said. One St. Louis firm was ultimately dropped from consideration because it did not meet the requirements established by the city, he said.

The responses also included a proposal from local firm Dille & Traxel Architecture, which was previously hired by the city to work on the new police department and city hall project. Representatives of the company have previously appeared before the council to question why commitments made by council members on three earlier occasions were not being discussed now.

Dille & Traxel did not make it into the final three during this process, Massingham said.

Scoring of the proposals was done by Massingham, police Chief Danny Whiteley, city planner Matt Winters and Deputy Chief Mike McClain.

The three unanimously selected Police Facility Design, said Massingham. The company has designed over 300 police departments, he said.

Massingham asked for the council’s approval in March to begin negotiating with the company. The company expected to present at the March 2 workshop meeting.

Complete information on all of the companies and their proposals was not available at press time.