Commission approves change order adding roughly $137,000 for records‑storage shelving

The county commission on Sept. 24 approved a change order to the Record Storage Building contract that county staff said will add roughly $82,000 in shelving changes plus nearly $55,000 in tax on materials and a 5% contingency to the project budget.

County staff described the work as high‑density, space‑saver shelving for boxed records and maps. "It's the the high density shelving for all of the boxes and everything like that," a staff member said during the meeting, explaining the shelving covers several rooms and that one room required extra shelf height to accommodate books and boxes.

The staff member said the original bid included an allowance of about $670,000 for shelving and that the roughly $82,000 represents two change items identified during design and installation. Because the county is not purchasing the shelving directly and the contractor will procure materials, staff said tax on the materials—"almost like 55,000"—must be added to the project cost. Staff also requested a 5% contingency to cover small items that might otherwise require return to the commission for approval.

The commission voted to approve the change order during the regular agenda. The presiding officer called for the vote; commissioners responded, "Aye," and the measure passed.

Discussion vs. decision: staff framed the change as necessary to fit revised shelving layout and to keep the work moving; the commission took formal action by approving the change order. No statutory citations or additional funding sources were identified in the discussion.

Next steps: staff did not specify a revised total contract value on the record during the meeting; the change order passed and staff said the contingency is to avoid repeated return to the commission for small items.