Oconto County will spend $4.6 million for electricity and electronic security at a law enforcement center under construction adjacent to the courthouse in Oconto. The county will contract with Northern Electric Inc., of Green Bay, for electricity, communications and electronic security equipment — areas in which the county will pay premium prices for services.
The county budgeted $3.8 million for the work, which initially came in more than $1 million over budget.
“We did see a jump in the number of cameras, which is a DOC (Department of Corrections) requirement, as well as the amount of storage we had to have for the security and electronics components. The budget bust was really in security electronics,” said Kurt Berner, of The Samuels Group, the county’s consultant for the project.
The contract with NEI was part of the third set of bids, approved by the Oconto County Board on Thursday. The board acted on other construction bids in July and August.
The low bid for food service equipment, at $317,000, was $182,000 over budget, leading officials to adjust the scope of the project and evaluate pricing options. With different equipment, the cost could drop to $237,000, which includes the labor for installation, Berner said. He plans to present final food service equipment numbers to the County Board in October or November; a decision is needed by December.
In addition to the electricity and security bids, the board on Thursday approved bids for aluminum entrances and storefront, at $243,000; ceilings, $521,000; plumbing, $1.6 million; and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, $2.6 million. The county in August postponed acting on the bids to allow time for consultants to find savings in these numbers.
The projected cost of constructing the LEC is $24.9 million, more than $1 million over the $23.5 million budget set by the county. To better meet that budget, those in charge of the project are tweaking the facility’s design and finding alternative construction materials. They also are considering compatibility with the existing technology at the courthouse.
All changes must be approved by the engineers of the project, the Department of Corrections, building inspectors and the county committees overseeing the project.
By changing the options on the five bid areas approved Thursday, the county reduced its costs by $848,767, according to figures provided by The Samuels Group. Berner presented supervisors with a potential savings list reflecting changes to 33 areas of the project.
Supervisor Gary Frank, the only supervisor voting no to the bids, objected to the word “savings.”
“When I see this list of savings, I can’t quite stomach that word. The original budget was $23.5 and the current construction cost is $24.9, yet we had savings,” he said. “I realize you trimmed it back from whatever was the original bid, but to call it savings is a bit disingenuous.”
Whether it’s called “savings” or something else, the lower bids were reflected in the contingency account. The county now has its construction contingency account at $1.37 million, or 5.5 percent of the project. In August, the account was $887,000, or 3.5 percent of the cost.
“A 5.5 percent contingency is good for this project,” said Oconto County Administrative Coordinator Kevin Hamann, who tried to set aside as much as the budget allowed.
“I’m hoping not to spend that $1.3 million, but as you know with this type of project, we’re going to have some unknowns out there,” Hamann said.
The LEC, to be built north of the courthouse, will include jail housing for up to 175 inmates, a sheriff’s administration area and a 911 center.
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