Daphne Council Approves $900,000 Design Contract for $26 Million Recreation and Senior Center Project

The Daphne City Council on Monday approved a $900,000 agreement with PCDA Architecture for design work on additions and alterations to the Daphne Recreation and Senior Center.

Excerpt from the May 18, 2026 Daphne City Council agenda, page 2 — item 4.E.i.

The motion is listed under the Public Works Committee report as Item 4.E.i. The agenda authorizes the mayor to sign the agreement; it does not itself describe the scope of work or the broader construction budget. Those details are in the firm's proposal letter, included later in the meeting packet.

What the proposal describes

The packet includes a letter dated April 22, 2026 from Paul C. Davis, president of Paul Carpenter Davis Architecture, P.C., addressed to Daphne Executive Director Troy Strunk. The letter lays out the scope and cost of the project.

According to the letter, PCDA would "design a multipurpose building to be used as a community center to further the growth and flourishing of the City of Daphne." The facility, the proposal says, would provide "meeting and recreation space to be used by the community."

PCDA proposal letter, May 18 meeting packet, page 77.

The proposal puts the total project budget at $26 million, broken down as follows:

• Building: $21 million
• Parking lot striping: $2.5 million
• Equipment and furniture: $1.5 million
• Design fees: $1 million

Under the State Fee Schedule, the project is classified as a Type III Facility, with PCDA's fee equal to 5.0% of construction costs. The firm's scope includes Civil Engineering, Landscape Design, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing consultants.

The $900,000 fee, by phase

The proposal describes PCDA's fee as "a flat lump sum of $1,000,000" and then breaks it down by design phase to a total of $900,000:

• Programming — 3% / $30,000
• Schematic Design — 7% / $70,000
• Design Development — 15% / $150,000
• Construction Documents — 55% / $550,000
• Permitting — 5% / $50,000
• Bidding — 5% / $50,000
• Total — 100% / $900,000

The motion the council approved is for the $900,000 figure. The proposal letter does not reconcile the $100,000 gap between the stated lump-sum number and the phase-by-phase total.

About the firm

Paul Carpenter Davis Architecture, P.C. — known as PCDA Architecture — is a Mobile, Alabama-based firm at 756 Saint Louis Street. The firm describes itself on its website as having more than 20 years of experience and offering commercial, industrial, aviation, hospitality, medical, and multifamily architecture services.

In the proposal letter, the firm tells the city that it is currently providing design services for the Cities of Foley, Fairhope, and Saraland, and that it has previously done design work for Daphne.

The motion, made by Councilwoman Messinger, carried unanimously at the council's 6 p.m. meeting on Monday, May 18, 2026, at City Hall, 1705 Main Street, according to the meeting minutes. Councilman Coleman was absent.