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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Since You Asked: Pedestrians can be cited for carelessness ... Wolf once believed to be dead shows up near Crater Lake ... One of Oregon's two health insurance co-ops says it will shut down ... Since You Asked: Pedestrians can be cited for carelessness ... Wolf once believed to be dead shows up near Crater Lake ... One of Oregon's two health insurance co-ops says it will shut down ... MEDFORD CITY COUNCIL Medford police garage facade improvement dropped Comment By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 15, 2015 at 5:16 PM Updated Oct 16, 2015 at 9:35 AM By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 15, 2015 at 5:16 PM Updated Oct 16, 2015 at 9:35 AM » Social News The Medford City Council on Thursday killed an almost $1 million police parking garage façade intended to improve and softened the look of a downtown block on Ivy Street. “It’s an unfortunate casualty of where we are now,” Councilor Michael Zarosinski said. The council had hoped to add masonry features to the garage to break up the wire mesh enclosure that will surround the outside of the structure on Ivy and 10th streets. Also, councilors wanted to upgrade the look of the garage because of their dissatisfaction with the look of the adjacent Jackson County Health Services building and parking garage, which also has wire mesh. But the police station and three new fire stations the city hoped to build encountered cost overruns amounting to $5 million, with another almost $1 million for the garage facade. Bids for three fire stations came in at $14 million, $3.4 million over budget, forcing the council to consider building only two fire stations. Councilor Dick Gordon said he thinks the council should build only Fire Station 2 in west Medford. He said he’s worried the city might not have enough money to build even two stations. “I only want to move ahead with one fire station right now,” he said. “I want to do it right.” Once the police headquarters and first fire station are built, the city can see whether it has enough money left over to build a second station, Gordon said. He’s also concerned about how high the bids will come in as the city moves forward with each fire station. Gordon said the city received a bill from Ogden Roemer Wilkerson Architecture for $136,000 to redesign all three stations. “Why design all three?” Gordon said. Many councilors are hoping that $800,000 in contingency funds set aside for the police headquarters won’t be spent, freeing up extra money for the fire stations. But Gordon said he’s concerned that much of that money could be eaten up by change orders. A $1.6 million cost overrun on the new Medford police headquarters announced in September was pared back to just shy of $1 million. The police headquarters is under construction at the corner of Ivy and 10th streets. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected] . Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm . By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 15, 2015 at 5:16 PM Updated Oct 16, 2015 at 9:35 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501