Panel to Pick Top Police Station Proposals : Simi Valley: Winning architect will eventually oversee project’s first phase, figuring out where to put the facility, its size and its cost.

Gearing up to build a new, multimillion-dollar police headquarters, Simi Valley leaders today will narrow a list of proposals from 10 architects vying for the right to design the station.

The Ad Hoc Civic Center Committee, made up of Mayor Greg Stratton and Councilwoman Judy Mikels, will review the applications, then pick the top proposals.

In the coming weeks, the finalists will be interviewed by the committee, the city manager and the police chief. A final recommendation is due to the City Council on April 11.

The winning architect will oversee the first phase of the project, figuring out where to put the station, how big it should be and how much it will cost. According to plans approved by the city earlier this month, the entire project will be conducted in five phases, and architectural bidding will be reopened for each phase.

“I’m really looking for somebody that’s forward-thinking,” Stratton said. “You only get to build one police station in your lifetime, and we want this one to last a long time.”

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The city accelerated plans to build a new police headquarters after the aging station at Cochran Street and Galena Avenue suffered more than $200,000 in damage from the Jan. 17 earthquake.

A preliminary study released by the city in mid-February estimated that the station could be replaced within four years at a cost of up to $11.3 million, if the city can find the funds to pay for it and a place to build it.

The estimate does not include the cost of buying land if the city decides to build on property it does not own. The first phase of planning is expected to cost up to $35,000.

Mikels said the qualifications she’s looking for in an architect are familiarity with Southern California and experience building police stations in cities similar in size to Simi Valley.

“Just because somebody has built a facility for the Chicago police doesn’t mean a lot to me,” Mikels said. “I want somebody who’s worked in a city our size, not a large city or some little, tiny Podunk town.”

Nine of the 10 firms applying for the project are based in California; the other is in Illinois. All have designed police stations or plan to subcontract with a consultant who has.

Two have worked on other Simi Valley projects.

Pasadena-based CHCG designed Simi Valley’s City Hall and also planned the 1984 renovation of the existing police station. Combs & Miguel, whose offices are in Sylmar and Valencia, drew up the just-approved plans for the Cultural Arts Center.

Leach Mounce Architects, the only firm based in Ventura County, designed the Ventura County East Valley Sheriff’s Station in Thousand Oaks and fire stations in Oxnard and Ventura.

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The department’s existing station was designed as temporary structures, built in three stages between 1968 and 1973. The buildings, constructed to last about 20 years, were remodeled in the 1980s at a cost to the city of $1.21 million.

The actual bids submitted by the applicants will remain sealed until the city selects a top candidate, Deputy City Manager Bob Heitzman said. Once the finalist is chosen, the city will negotiate a reasonable price.

Councilman Bill Davis said he would be watching closely to make sure that the winning bid is as low as possible.

“We’re just getting started with this, and I think it’s important to make sure we’re getting a reasonable price from the get-go,” Davis said. “If we start that way, we’ll have a better chance of keeping everything on schedule.”

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FYI

Simi Valley’s Ad Hoc Civic Center Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. today at Simi Valley City Hall, 2929 Tapo Canyon Road.