The Federal Way City Council voted 5-1 to award the construction bid for the Performing Arts and Events Center at a council meeting Tuesday night.

The bid contract was awarded to Garco Construction, a company based in Spokane with offices in Tacoma. Garco was the lowest responsive contractor of seven others who bid for the project. Garco bid $24.15 million, including sales tax, for construction of the 41,000-square-foot facility. With a contingency of 7.4 percent or $1.78 million, the total comes to about $26 million of the $32.7 million project budget.

“This is an historic night,’” said Mayor Jim Ferrell. “I am pleased with the council’s decision to award this bid. We are in good shape financially and will continue to pursue multiple means of funding. From public-private partnerships, to our continued pursuit of New Market Tax Credits, I truly believe the [events center] will not only serve as a catalyst for economic development, but will be a place to connect our diverse community through the performances and events that will be showcased there.”

Last June, the City Council approved the budget for planning and construction of the events center after decades of public support for the project.

“It’s been a long, long journey to get to this point,” said long-time supporter Joann Piquette, adding that she’s been involved since it was first included in a comprehensive plan 26 years ago. “… A bit of history about our neighbors to the north: Back in 1899, the city of Seattle purchased 200 acres known as Woodland Park for $100,000. Many citizens criticized the move. Among other things, they complained that it was too distant from the city center. Would anyone criticize that purchase now? The zoo and park are considered one of the top 10 in the nation.”

But a few have criticized that the city is moving too fast in constructing the events center.

Councilwoman Susan Honda was the only one to vote against awarding the bid. Councilwoman Kelly Maloney, who has voiced similar concerns as Honda, was out of town.

Honda said during her time on the Arts Commission for six years, she went to many meetings about the events center.

“I couldn’t understand why not all of our council members supported this great idea because it’s a great idea,” she said. “And then I was elected to City Council and realized how complicated it is running a city.”

Honda said securing all of the construction funding — the city is still millions short — was supposed to be the “easy part,” while finding the money to continue to operate the center would be more difficult.

“And we haven’t talked about that at all tonight,” she said. “We need to know how to operate and maintain it and how it will fit into this city.”

Maloney wrote in a letter that the center’s construction was the “single-most expensive project the city has undertaken in its 25 years” and it generates many questions, opposition and a call for a public vote.

“Questions about financing for construction and ongoing operations costs, challenges to the reported economic impact and the multiplier effect, and requests for a public vote have all been valid inquiries and points for further examination,” Maloney continued, adding that she believes a public-private partnership should be explored if the bid was awarded.

Federal Way resident Matthew Jarvis said the city should not “count its chickens before they’ve hatched,” referring to pending grants, the sale of naming rights and a hotel pad, and other unsecured funds, such as the New Markets Tax Credits the city hoped to acquire.

Jarvis said he supports the bid approval but simply wants the city to delay construction until they have all the money in-hand.

The city’s finance director Ade Ariwoola said the city has $12 million with a commitment from the state for $4 million. The other $10 million would come from a 4Culture grant for $2 million, a $3 million Community Development Block Grant section 108 loan, $1.5 million from the sale of the hotel pad (now located at the former Target site) and $3.5 million from the naming rights to the center.

Ariwoola said the city still has time to close the $6.27 million gap, which will go towards construction and the contingency. Having already approved a three-year interfund loan for $13 million back in July 2014, Ariwoola said the city won’t have to start using that until November 2016 and it won’t require repayment until November 2019. That gives the city time to re-apply for the New Markets Tax Credits, fundraise on top of the $700,000 already raised, and potentially secure more grants. Still, if they come across the “worst case scenario,” the interfund loan would be repaid with a 20-year bond with a 3 percent interest rate. Based on the current funding gap, Ariwoola estimated that would cost the city $421,443 a year, which would be drawn from current general revenue, utility taxes and sales tax.

The majority of feedback during the public comment section of the hearing was positive and in favor of constructing the events center.

Shari Song thanked the city for having the vision and foresight to support the center because “not only will it be a catalyst” for economic development, “but a vehicle for cultural development and community building.”

Paul Levy, a Federal Way resident representing the Washington District of Metropolitan Opera National Council, said he wishes the facility was already built as he and his wife are “venue shopping.”

“This year, we will be auditioning 30 kids,” Levy said. “They’re singers between the ages of 20-30 and they come not only from all over the state. We’ve got a singer coming from Alaska, we’ve got Hawaii, Australia, Philadelphia. They come here, they need a place to stay, they don’t just lie out in the street. We bring judges in throughout the country. This year, two judges are from New York. And we book hotel rooms for them, they need a place to eat…. When you start to add these numbers up, and begin to recognize the impact that our event will have on the community, it’s just a microcosm of what’s possible.”

Promoter of Northern Classic Bodybuilding show Michele Mayberry also expressed a desire to use the center.

“We have such a hard time finding a venue of around 700-900 seats in the Puget Sound area that has an opening for us,” Mayberry wrote in a letter to the city. “Everything is booked for years in advance. We would love to be able to use the Performing Arts and Events Center, as it is the perfect location and size as well as having the hotels nearby.”

Mayberry explained the 200 competitors and 700-plus supporters would benefit the city’s tourism and economy during their all-day events. She even expressed interest in discussing a five-year contract if they could secure the dates they need.

Phil Wamba said he supports building the center now because construction costs will only rise as time goes on, while Pam Smith, the managing director of the Auburn Performing Arts Center, affirmed the current need is also now.

“I see this more as a collaboration than a competition,” she said, noting she turns away clients because there’s not enough dates, parking or time slots for groups that want to utilize the Auburn facility.

A resident in Federal Way since 1962, Dana Turcott thanked the city for taking care of the community as did Keith Livingston.

“Some of us recognize that Federal Way has been in a slow economic decline for many years, building the Performing Arts and Events Center is an opportunity to begin to reverse that trend,” Livingston said, adding that the naysayers’ concerns about money are being used as a fear tactic.

Yet Honda questioned whether the city is expecting a little too much from this building “because it’s just a building.”

“Federal Way should not be defined by a single building but by the people who work and live in Federal Way, the people who call Federal Way home,” she said.

Deputy Mayor Jeanne Burbidge said the vote signifies the construction of more than a building – a community.

“It will be a place for the people who use it, it will be all of what happens there, truly the heart of our city,” she said. “… Coupled with other redevelopment plans in Town Center, including the park and Target site, the [events center] will animate the environment during the day and evening, greatly improve the quality of life in Federal Way, increasing local pride, contributing to an improved brand image. It will create a more vibrant community.”

Garco Construction is expected to break ground on the Performing Arts and Events Center on Oct. 21. The city estimates the project will be complete by summer 2017.