Palmer council will vote on $960,509 more for new library's second floor and kitchen

The Palmer City Council will vote Tuesday, Oct. 27, on adding $960,509 to H5 Construction's contract for the new Palmer Public Library, mostly to finish second-floor space and expand the kitchen.

The change order would raise the contract to about $13.1 million. That is about 8.7 percent above the original award but below the $16 million the council authorized in 2024.

The city administration recommends approval. A memo submitted for Library Director Joy Bailey says doing the work now is expected to cost less than a separate project later, "when labor and material costs may be higher." It also says the work would avoid disrupting library services and the challenges of construction in an occupied public building.

About $550,000 would finish roughly 2,000 square feet of unfinished second-floor space, from walls, flooring and roofing to electrical, plumbing and painting. H5's pricing sheet adds 14 contract days for that work. The other items add none.

About $227,000 would expand the kitchen next to the main meeting room, with outlets, cabinetry, appliances and water, wastewater and ventilation connections. The memo says it would serve library programs, community events and room rentals.

The rest:

• About $70,000 for more built-in shelving for materials patrons check out.

• About $64,000 for 36 manual and four motorized shades to protect materials from sun damage.

• About $50,000 for EMC Engineers to inspect and test soil, asphalt, concrete and structural steel.

The memo says the Library Executive Committee reviewed and recommended the improvements, and it marks the expense as budgeted.

The library is being rebuilt from the ground up. Part of the old building's roof collapsed in February 2023, and the city, judging it unsuitable for repair, demolished it in July 2025. Seven contractors bid on the new building in October 2025. Architect Gary Wolf, whose firm designed the library, recommended low bidder H5, at $12.08 million, and the council awarded the contract Oct. 28, 2025.

Draft minutes show the council unanimously approved the first change order Oct. 13, about $87,000 for data cabling and security cameras. At that meeting, the city's law firm, Landye Bennett Blumstein, disclosed that it also represents H5 Construction, said it had not advised either side on the item and recused itself from the discussion.

The city's 2025 audit, also on Tuesday's agenda, shows the library construction fund ended last year with about $3.9 million, after taking in about $2.8 million in insurance payments. The 2025 budget had counted on $6.3 million from other governments for the fund. None was recorded that year, according to the audit, which does not show whether that money arrived later.

If the council approves, City Manager Kolby Zerkel would be authorized to sign the change order. The council meets at 6 pm in the council chambers at 231 W. Evergreen Ave. Residents may speak for three minutes each, before and after the action items.