City Chooses Performance Criteria Developer For Small Business Incubator Program

By Gordon HopkinsThe City of Fairbury has voted to hire Fakler Architects LLC, of Beatrice, to serve as a Performance Criteria Developer (PCD) for the city’s new business incubator project.Development Services Director Laura Bedlan explained the need for a PCD at a meeting of the Public Works Committee at a meeting on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, “Essentially, the PCD is charged with protecting the city’s assets, because the design build, as you remember, has the architect and the builder are one. So this PCD would look out for our interest as far as the building goes, and it’s a statute requirement.” The City of Fairbury was awarded $750,000 from the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and will be using $125,000 of that money for ELEVATE Fairbury, a grant opportunity for small for-profit businesses wanting to start–up or expand. The city is constructing a small business incubator and creating a program that will provide grant funding to small businesses located within the city’s Qualified Census Tract (QCT). At the recommendation of legal counsel, city staff reached out to six architects able to provide PCD services, recommended by Olsson Associates, an engineering and design firm often used by the city, and Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD). Of those contacted, only two responded with bids.Committee member Phil Rogge, who also serves on the city council, said, “It’s worth noting that there was quite a difference in the bids.”Fakler Architects submitted a bid of $12,750. The other bid came from Project Control, headquartered in Lincoln, for $86,600. Bedlan hypothesized that the city did not receive more bids because of the project as well as the size of the community, “It’s a little bit difficult to get a firm interested in the PCD portion of this, because it’s really not their bread and butter. They make a lot more money in larger communities doing this for a lot of different entities.”The Public Works Committee voted to recommend the bid from Fakler Architects. Later that same evening, the Fairbury City Council met and voted unanimously to accept the bid.

Students See Officials in Action at County Government Day

With Strong Ties To Fairbury, Mans Becoming A Standout Artist

Related Articles

Swearing in City Governments

Special Report: Toxic Power

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Construction Begins on New Band Shelter