Designer set for Shafter police substation

The Shafter City Council has chosen a designer for the new Shafter Police Department substation at Gossamer Grove.

The council agreed Tuesday night that the facility will be a modular building approximately 8,600 square feet.

Teter Inc. is to complete the design phase for about $327,000. The council set a budget maximum of $350,000.

In 2022, the city was awarded a $6 million grant for the entire project.

The design and architecture phase of the project should take three to five months. With the project being funded by the grant, no budget allocations were necessary. In addition to the substation, the design also included plans assuring the city and county that there would be enough room on the site to have a Kern County fire station built there, although the grant that the city received does not cover the Fire Station. “I am working with the KCFD on logistics on how to proceed with the project concerning the Fire Department; the responsibility for the building of the fire station and the cost of it is on the Kern County Fire Department,”

The agreement also includes consultation and assistance by Teter during the bidding and administration phases of the project. They also will be available to help during the construction phase of the project if the need arises.

In closed session, there were discussions regarding labor negotiations between the city and City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez.