City of Lakewood announcement.
The City of Lakewood is soliciting Statement of Qualifications (SOQs) from interested consultants for architectural, engineering, and workspace design services to produce a report detailing Lakewood City Hall redesign possibilities that meet staff space needs while maximizing workflow, collaboration, and service provision efficiency.
The City’s needs are outlined in a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) available here.
All Minority & Women Business Enterprises (MWBEs), Veteran Owned Businesses (VOBs), Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), and Small Business Enterprises (SBEs), are strongly encouraged to apply.
The Statements of Qualification will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Project team experience and qualifications
- Understanding of the project requirements
- Project team’s experience with workspace redesign studies of similar scope
- Approach to project
- Past performance and references
Each Statement of Qualification shall be electronically submitted via email in the manner as stated in the RFQ to Michael Vargas (mvargas@cityoflakewood.us) no later than 5:00 PM, Wednesday, February 9, 2022.
Please direct all questions to Assistant to the City Manager/Policy Analyst, Michael Vargas (mvargas@cityoflakewood.us, 253-304-5852)
Sounds like rearranging furniture and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Why am I not surprised?
Boy, oh boy. The original City Hall & design didn’t meet the needs of the people working there when it was 1st finished. It just shows how inept the city planners were when they did not pay attention to the people, especially the police dept., who would be affected by this building. Well, just like paving the roads in Lakewood and THEN digging them up to put in the sewers. Well, don’t come looking to the Lakewood taxpayers to cover the cost of this newest project.
Where did the City ever pave a road and then have sewers come in and need to repair the road? I’ll save you some time, it hasn’t happened. Only sewer projects that have occurred since incorporation are in Tillicum and American Lake Gardens. The sewer repair along Steilacoom is not a planned activity and mainly outside of any new paving projects.
Reading between the lines, this sounds like the city is preparing to reduce staffing areas and lease building space out to the public. Not sure why any reasonable taxpayer would disagree with that.
So now the City of Lakewood has the cash to spend on re-designing the “Taj Mahal” yet has to continue soaking Lakewood residents to fund “make-work” transportation projects through the everlasting “Transportation Benefit District” (TBD) $20.00 car tab tax while the Mayor claims that property crimes aren’t a priority in policing due to officer shortfalls while Chief Zaro laments that the officers he does have are being hand-tied when it comes to law enforcement? Did I get this right?
How about you just move people in City Hall closer to those they have to work with? How about Lakewood’s government move into the 21st Century and employ remote working as many had to do during COVID? Indeed in the real world outside government there has been a dramatic decline in the need for office space for just this reason. Re-designing a building so you can more easily communicate with someone 50 feet away is ridiculous and a waste of citizen tax money. Why not just pull the tin cans on a string a little tighter! Like government employees are so busy that they can’t pick up a phone!
Remember Lakewood CARES got its start 20+ years ago opposing similar zany City Council proposals. Remember the original Taj Mahal that emasculated the police department for four years in favor of putting aside funding for their Class A luxurious city hall; the infamous “Theme Park” that would have cost Lakewood citizens $75,000,000 in up front development fees and wiped out the Springbrook neighborhood; the Council’s attempt to buy out all of Puget Sound Energy’s assets in Lakewood; Council’s opposition to I-695, an initiative supported by a great majority of Lakewood voters; the wide open invitation to gambling within the City; or any of a host of other poorly thought out issues?
I guess it’s time for Lakewood CARES to gear up for the elections of 2023 now by opposing similar zany City Council proposals: the will not go unnoticed in the future. CARES was successful 20 years ago in electing 3 of its members to Council and electing Washington’s first black female Mayor, Dr. Claudia Thomas. CARES can be just as successful in the future as it had been in the past.