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On May 10, the county board voted to hire CR-BPS to update the County’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in an amount not to exceed $224,400.
CR-Building Performance Specialists will do a comprehensive facility assessment of county-owned buildings. They will assist in forming a facility plan that the county board will utilize for short- and long-term decision making for capital planning, deferred maintenance expenditures, and other current and future facility needs.
The board authorized Administrator James Joerke to execute a contract for professional services with CR-BPS.
This past January, the county board solicited proposals from architectural design and engineering firms to help the county update its CIP. Fourteen firms received bid packages, with five responding. After the county budget and facilities committee reviewed and scored the proposals, two firms were selected for interviews, and CR-BPS was picked.
Administrator Joerke said there was a wide range of bids, from $20,000 to $354,000. To understand why there was such a difference in submissions, the budget committee conducted interviews with firms to see how and why they made their bids.
Once selected, Joerke worked with CR-BPS to identify phasing scenarios, and Phase 1 was recommended by a majority of the Budget and Facilities Advisory Committee to best meet the county’s needs and minimize the overall project cost. By selecting Phase 1, the county expects the document to be finished by the end of the year.
The last time the county conducted a similar process was in 2017-2018. But then, joerke said the public didn’t have much access to comment on the plans to enlarge the jail and build a new PHSS building. “I think a lot of the public was caught off guard” when the plans were released, said Joerke. “They weren’t happy with the process, and there were legitimate concerns about the need for a new jail.
“They weren’t able to participate in the process, and when the plan was unveiled, there was a lot of pushback from the public.”
The process stalled after the former county administrator resigned and the pandemic hit.
Joerke added that from now on, the need for transparency would be essential, and the public would have plenty of chances to comment on plans as they were being made.
Commissioner Bob Svaleson said that while the upfront cost to hire CR-BPS might seem high, “This is an investment that will have long-term savings for the county.”
Joerke explained that the project aims to enable the county to make strategic, fiscally responsible decisions about future investments in its facilities.
The project was planned but not included in the 2022 budget because of unknowns about costs. However, Joerke said it was anticipated that the county fund balance could be used to pay CR-BPS, so there would be no impact on the county levy.
Commissioner Stacey Hawkins suggested using some money from the highway department, and the public health and human services budgets –say $50,000 each to offset hiring CR-BPS.
Commissioner David Mills said he opposed that idea because each of those departments was probably making plans to use those dollars.
When it came time to vote, all of the commissioners voted for the proposal to hire CR-BPS
Before the contract with CR-BPS can be approved, County Attorney Molly Hicken must review it and send her recommendation back to the county board.
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