How Woods Cross picked its City Hall architect and construction manager, and what checks show so far

Woods Cross's council approved Method Studio as architect and Hogan Construction as construction manager for the new City Hall on Nov. 18, 2025, according to the approved minutes. Both approvals depended on a positive recommendation from the city attorney on the final contracts. ^[1]

Council Member Julie Checketts moved to approve the Method Studio resolution, 2025-951, and Council Member Wally Larrabee seconded. Council Member Gary Sharp moved to approve the Hogan Construction resolution, 2025-952, and Larrabee seconded. The minutes say all voted in favor of each. ^[1]

The selection

The city issued requests for proposals in August 2025, according to the minutes. It received 10 proposals for construction management; the minutes say nine were received for the architect item, though they describe them as construction management firms. ^[1]

Ten people scored the proposals, including council members, staff and Bountiful's city engineer. The top three for each role presented and were interviewed publicly, and the council directed staff to negotiate with Method Studio and Hogan after checking references. ^[1]

A community development report in the same minutes says the city interviewed three architectural and three construction-management firms and narrowed the choice to two. The minutes state no fee amounts. ^[1]

The Nov. 18, 2025 packet includes drafts of both contracts. In the architect's draft, Method Studio gets a flat $25,000 programming fee, credited against a fee for the remaining phases, and its total fee including programming may not exceed 5.5% of the final guaranteed maximum price, or GMP. Billing in the design phase is based on the estimated construction cost set at the end of programming, and if the accepted final GMP is higher, the fee is adjusted to 5.5% of it. Supplemental services are to be priced in writing before work, and additional services are separate. ^[5]

The draft for Hogan lists a $15,000 preconstruction fee, a construction-manager fee of 2% of the GMP, and construction supervision at $65,730 a month. It says the preconstruction compensation can be equitably adjusted if those services run past 12 months through no fault of the construction manager. The signature lines on both drafts are blank. ^[5]

These are proposed fee components. The packet does not state a final GMP or an all-in project cost, and the Ledger does not apply 5.5% to a planning estimate to produce a dollar fee. The July 21 statement above, that the architect is paid on a percentage basis, fits the draft's wording. How these drafts compare with the executed contracts, and what the city has paid in total, are still not shown. ^[5][2]

Design changes

On July 21, 2026, after a community survey was presented, the council discussed the size of a community room in the new building. The minutes record that the architect is paid on a percentage basis, so design changes would not cost more in architect fees. ^[2]

Council Member Eric Jones cited an estimated impact of $600,000 to $800,000 for additional square footage, according to the minutes. No vote was taken. ^[2]

Checks issued

The city's July 17–Aug. 12, 2026 check register lists check 31970, issued July 30, for $35,185.10 to Method Studio for "PROGRAMMING DESIGN NEW CITY HALL." The same register lists $8,342.10 to JUB Engineers for Hogan Park easement and property work and no payments to Hogan Construction. ^[2]

The Aug. 27 register lists $14,037.50 to Method Studio for programming design of the new City Hall. ^[3]

Check 32213, issued Sept. 24, 2026, paid Method Studio $14,116.57 for architectural services for City Hall and Hogan Park. ^[4]

All three Method Studio payments were charged to the same capital account. ^[2][3][4]

Where the design stands

The Oct. 6 packet shows how the project has moved since those selections. Hogan's latest estimate puts the building at about $16 million and the park at about $9.9 million, and staff expect bids in March, construction to start in June 2027 and occupancy in late 2028 or early 2029. The memo says these are estimates and not a final cost. ^[4]

None of that answers the questions about the firms' contracts or what each has been paid. The estimate is Hogan's own working number as construction manager, not a contract price. ^[4]