Published: April 15, 2008 12:07 pm      

Commissioners inch forward on renovations, despite reservations

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Despite preliminary project costs being nearly $240,000 more than the county budgeted this year for its construction projects, Cherokee County commissioners voted unanimously Monday morning to move forward with the county’s three planned office projects.

The county is working with JML Architects and Garrett & Associates General Contractors to renovate the old police department building in Jacksonville, to build a new evidence room onto the Cherokee County Jail in Rusk and to convert the drive-through at the justice of the peace’s office in Alto into a courtroom. Mike Leinback of JML and Wes McClure of Garrett & Associates presented the court with their findings at Monday’s meeting and fielded commissioners’ questions about the costs.

Initial cost estimates for the three projects reach a combined $858,362; divided into $365,201 for the Jacksonville project, $297,087 for the Rusk work and $196,074 for the construction in Alto. According to County Auditor L.H. Crockett, the county budget this year only includes $710,000 for capital improvements — and $90,000 of that fund has already been spent on the courthouse’s new roof.

The commissioners all expressed reservations regarding the cost of the projects, but eventually agreed to allow Garrett and Associates to go out for bids.

“We are spending an awful lot of money. The Rusk and Alto buildings don’t bother me as much, but I am having a problem with the idea of spending $365,000 on the old police department building,” said Commissioner Byron Underwood. “It’s not that I don’t think we need to make these improvements, but that’s a lot of money to spend on that building to be getting the amount of work on it that we are getting.”

Commissioner Mary Gregg likewise was concerned about the heavy cost the work will have, but said she didn’t see the harm in letting Garrett & Associates put out for bids.

“We have a responsible company here that will be guiding this project — someone that we have confidence in to do it right and to give us something that we will be proud of. I admit, when I first looked at this figure, I was glad I was sitting down, but I don’t think we want to do something cheap that we will have to do again in another 10 years for twice as much money,” she said.

Leinback said two of the major factors behind the ponderous price tag are escalating construction costs and federal guidelines, like the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires all public buildings be made wheelchair-accessible.

Gregg said the county has been considering these improvements for years, and during that time she has seen construction costs drive the price of the project skyward.

“We have been chewing on this for a long, long time. I remember when we first started talking about doing this three or four years ago, and the figure is now probably two-and-a-half times what we thought it would be then,” Gregg said. “I think what we need to do now is to let Garrett & Associates to go out and receive bids for this project, and then come back and present them to us so we can decide if we want to continue or not.”

According to Crockett, the county can choose to handle the larger-than-expected expense by either making an amendment to the budget or by funding a portion of the project this year and leaving the remainder on next year’s budget. He said the county has roughly $7 million or $8 million in reserve should the commissioners choose to amend the 2007-2008 budget.

In other business the court approved:

• Precinct 2 to obtain bids for a used pulverizer-mixer;

• Precinct 1 to purchase new graders with a trade-in through Buy Board;

• the monthly report from James Campbell, sheriff;

• the monthly report from L.H. Crockett, county auditor;

• the monthly report from Lynn Kelley, constable of Precinct 1;

• the monthly report from Ricky Moore, license and weight officer;

• a resolution and tax resale deed for conveyance of previously struck off property;

• transferring the lease of Hanger 33 from Forrest Crawford to Dennis Spence;

• the plat for Bonnie D’s subdivision;

• the plat for Andy’s subdivision;

• the courthouse lawn to be used May 1 for the National Day of Prayer;

• the courthouse lawn to be used July 4 for the 4th of July Celebration and parade;

• the minutes from previous meetings; and

• paying the bills.

The Cherokee County Commissioner’s Court regularly meets at 10 a.m. the second and fourth Monday of each month, at the county courthouse. The public is invited to attend all meetings.