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County taking bids on offices |
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Thursday, 03 January 2008 |
 COUNTY JUDGE Lanny Fite looks over site plans for the new sheriff’s office building in Benton.
Sealed bids will be received until 2 p.m. in the office of County Judge Lanny Fite.
Fite said local contractors are preferable, but the lowest bids will be accepted.
Moving the sheriff’s office in front of the new jail at 735 S. Neeley St. always has been in the plans, Fite said. The current office is located at Main and Cross streets.
The new space, which will be about 8,000 square feet, will combine all administrative offices in one location, including the criminal investigation division. CID currently is located at District Court on Edison Avenue.
“If CID needs to talk to someone in the jail, they have to drive down there,” Fite said. “This way they will be able to walk next door and interview. Also, the sheriff will have all his people in one location.”
Fite, whose job includes oversight of all county buildings, said, “The jail was designed to expand. This is the order of progression on the new jail, which will expand.”
There are 18 bid packages that will be accepted. They include earthwork, asphalt paving, masonry, structural steel, custom woodwork, roofing, glass and glazing, drywall, floor coverings, acoustical ceilings, painting, fire protection sprinkler, plumbing, electrical, doors and hardware and miscellaneous specialties.
The judge said a plus of the project is infrastructure already is in place. “All we have to do is tie on to the water and sewer,” he said.
Construction of the jail, which was paid for with a temporary 0.375 percent sales tax that expired earlier than expected last year, came in $125,000 under budget, Fite said.
There is a surplus of around $1.6 million with 5 percent in contingencies, he said, and the projected cost of this project is around $1.7 million. Contingencies cover unexpected things that may occur during construction.
“We’ll have a deficit of around $100,000 that we can bring out of our emergency fund,” Fite said. However, he noted, the cost may be less and the emergency fund wouldn’t have to be tapped in that case.
Upon receiving bids later this month, construction is set to begin in February. The target completion date is November.
Renovation of the current sheriff’s office is expected to begin in November. The space will be occupied by the new judge in January 2009. Beginning next year, Saline County will have an additional Circuit Court judge. The county now has three. |
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