COEUR d'ALENE — The city of Coeur d'Alene will seek expertise and leadership from the private sector to accomplish a remodel of City Hall on time and within budget.

After an initial bidding process for the project resulted in multiple contractors all providing bids that were over budget, city officials decided to hire a third party to serve as a construction manager and contractor, rather than rely on in-house personnel. Although Kootenai County and other Idaho cities use this method, which is allowed under Idaho statute, the move will be the first time in the city's history that a third party will oversee a public works project.

"It doesn't just give them an open checkbook," Councilwoman Kiki Miller said of the decision. "It's still going to be a contracted project with a set budget and timelines."

Remodeling City Hall, for which the city council has previously allocated a total of $1.75 million, will primarily involve making Americans with Disabilities Act enhancements, installation of security systems and restructuring the facility so the entirety of the city's legal department can be housed in City Hall rather than at a leased building on Sherman Avenue.

Payment of the third-party manager will come directly from the total project budget.

The hired individual or entity will be able to make decisions that previously needed to go through city departments for approval. Miller said those duties traditionally fall upon a team of city staffers in multiple departments — who, she added, are sometimes not qualified to manage particular styles of projects, and at times are heavily reliant on the initial architectural plans.

"We are going to hire a professional that will have the ability to see things that could be done differently and result in cost or time savings," Miller added.

Being able to directly approach subcontractors, Miller said, will allow the third-party manager to seek out subcontractors they already have working relationships with, and explain to those companies how the statutory bidding process and other government requirements work in a way that city staff possibly couldn't. Councilman Dan Gookin told The Press he also sees this flexibility as a way to potentially save taxpayer money on public works projects.

"This is someone who does contracting and has loyalty and relationships built with subcontractors and others in the industry," Gookin said. "These subcontractors want to maintain those relationships and will hopefully bid more appropriately because of it."

Gookin added he believes more oversight is needed in large projects such as the City Hall remodel because the big picture often gets lost. Having a third party manage the project, he said, will help ensure work delegated to subcontractors will be done the right way, on time and within budget.

Submissions of qualifications from individuals or entities interested in the position will be accepted by the city until Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. After the deadline, city officials will review the submissions before selecting the third-party manager.

Both council members told The Press city staff and elected officials will have to closely monitor the process, and results the upcoming third-party manager produces.

"If it works, it could result in much more efficient public works projects," Miller said.