Game and Fish moving forward with plans for new office

Budget yet to be announced

Posted 11/21/19

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has selected an architectural firm to design a new regional office in Cody, taking another step toward breaking ground.

The department chose Plan …

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Game and Fish moving forward with plans for new office

Budget yet to be announced

Posted

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has selected an architectural firm to design a new regional office in Cody, taking another step toward breaking ground.

The department chose Plan One/Architects, a Wyoming-based company with an office in Cody. They’ve designed projects in all forms of architecture including commercial, hospitality, medical, educational, correctional and municipal buildings.

“We pride ourselves on the Western style of architecture, durable materials, functionality and we won’t go overboard with the design,” said Dan Odasz, president of Plan One. “We want to portray the right image of the Game and Fish to the public and we can’t wait to get started.”

The firm was selected unanimously by a group of Game and Fish department heads.

“We are very excited to have Plan One on board,” said Dee Dee Hawk, chief of the services division for the department. “Eighty percent of the design of this building will actually be done in Cody and all of the design and engineering will be performed in the state of Wyoming.”

All three of Plan One’s architects for the project work out of the Cody office.

State officials have scheduled their first meeting on the project with Plan One today (Thursday) and plan a kick-off meeting with Cody Region employees in January, where they’ll start figuring out building requirements with division supervisors and employees. Game and Fish Commissioner Pat Crank said the expectation is that Plan One will hold down extra costs after the initial design is accepted.

“We want an accurate estimate of what this is going to cost and we want to live by that,” Crank told Odasz. “In my prior years of experience, where the state gets killed on construction projects is change orders [during construction].”

Odasz told the commissioner he couldn’t promise perfection, “but I can promise to strive for it.”

Hawk was unwilling to give the expected cost or even a rough estimate of the project. “We have a general idea about the budget, but we have to see what is needed by the region. Fit is the most important thing,” she said.

Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik said it’s not good business practice to talk about a budget prior to opening up the project to bids.

“We try to allocate our money in a responsible way, just like anyone would out of their own checking account. It’s important for us to encourage competitiveness,” he said. “We want a building that suits our needs, but also considers that it’s being paid by sportsmen and needs to be done in a conservative way.”

The department has already purchased land for the new building, paying $350,000 for a nearly 22-acre parcel that lies just north of the City of Cody.

Beyond facilities for the employees and equipment, Hawk said they also want to make room for meeting space for hunter’s education and meetings.

“With the trophy game folks here in the Cody Region, their needs are quite a bit different than some of our other regional offices,” she said.

Hawk promised there would be public engagement in the process when preliminary designs are done — hopefully by next spring.

“It’s hard to engage the public if you don’t have something to show them,” she said.

Estimates on square footage should be known soon after the January meetings. Hawk said the department hopes to break ground on the project in the spring of 2021, with construction taking about 12 months.

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