County board to finalize plan for architect

The county board is looking to put the finishing touches on a deal with Paul R. Johnson Architects for the company’s services on the joint Law Enforcement and Government Center remodeling project.

The board unanimously approved at last week’s meeting Paul R. Johnson Architects as a finalist for the design team, but board members wanted to iron out a few details.

The board sought insight from Judy Enright, who mentioned there were some uncertainties in the architect’s proposal. She urged the board to look further into stipulations surrounding change orders, or unforeseen consequences that would require the firm to charge more or less money.

The county is remodeling vacant space in the Government Center to make room for Health and Human Services. The LEC remodel, which has been described as more cosmetic, will deal with tight space in dispatch and aging facilities in hallways, locker rooms and the lobby.

The county’s cost for the two projects is about $4.6 million — about $3.8 million for the government center remodel and about $800,000 for the county’s share of remodeling the Law Enforcement Center. Including all costs — county and non-county — County Coordinator Craig Oscarson said the entire project is closer to $6 million.

The board will discuss Human Services business starting at 8:30 a.m. and the regular meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. The board was tentatively set to discuss the remodel in the afternoon but could move discussions to run along with the board meeting.

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