MT. VERNON, IL — The Mt. Vernon City Council OK’d an agreement with Holland Construction Services to oversee the building of a new police station marking a major step in moving this project forward. The agreement shows that the city will pay Holland a flat fee of $50,000 for pre-construction services.

Mt. Vernon Mayor John Lewis says there are problems with efficiency as well as security at the current building that the MVPD moved into in 1979.

After the bids are awarded and during construction a fee of 5.5% of the total construction cost will be paid to Holland. The initial estimates on construction costs were around $7 million. The contract length with Holland runs for 24-months, putting an estimated completion date in late 2022 or January of 2023.

Councilman Ray Botch was a part of city government in 1970 when the MVPD was in the utility department building. He says in 1977 the city spent $300,000 to buy and retrofit the, at that time, already 40 year old building, the PD is still currently residing.

The project will be funded out of the city’s budget and there are some bond proceeds from the city’s last bond issuance that can be used for construction.