Butler County to advance $34.9 million Princeton Road public-safety campus design

Butler County commissioners agreed in an April 2025 work session to advance the design and bid packaging for a consolidated Princeton Road public-safety campus, with a proposed budget of $34,900,000.

County Administrator Boiko told the Board the project team had reduced an initial, turnkey schematic estimate of about $38 million through design changes and site-value engineering to reach the $34.9 million figure. "At this point we feel like we're at a position we need to present this to the Board of Commissioners, glean your perspective, your input, your insight, and direction so that we may go to the next stage," Boiko said.

The project would consolidate the Sheriff’s 911 Emergency Dispatch Communications Center and the Coroner’s administrative offices. KZF (design), Turner Construction (construction manager), and civil engineers Bayer Becker presented a series of changes intended to lower cost without cutting core operational capacity. Scott Sendis of KZF said the team focused first on site changes — moving the visitor lot closer to Princeton Road, shortening drive aisles, reconfiguring sidewalks, replacing a wet stormwater pond with a dry detention basin and tightening some loading-dock geometry — and then on trimming noncore interior square footage.

Designers told commissioners the coroner side was reduced roughly 13% by eliminating planned "future" office spaces and tightening support areas while preserving core autopsy capacity and station counts. Coroner Dr. Mannix said she was comfortable with the changes: "Yes. I am. We're real good with them. We cut space, but we're good." On the 911 side, the team said administrative areas were reduced about 25%; the dispatch floor footprint and infrastructure for future expansion were retained. Sheriff Jones said the changes prioritized current needs and would be comfortable for staff: "...we will be comfortable," he said.

Aesthetic and daylighting details drew discussion. The original design included a clerestory (raised band of windows) over the coroner autopsy suite; the revised plans lower that feature but retain high windows to admit natural light while using glazing that preserves privacy. Turner Construction estimator Adam Reese gave a rough, on-the-record savings estimate for the clerestory revision of about $300,000. "A rough estimate, offhand, I wanna say is around $300,000," Reese said.

Turner outlined a three-part bid packaging plan: bid group 1 would cover special inspection, site work and utilities (to allow Bayer Becker to proceed with foundations); group 2 would cover long-lead and core-and-shell items such as structural steel, concrete, glazing and roofing; group 3 would cover interior finishes, owner equipment (coroner/911 equipment), FF&E and commissioning. Projected near-term schedule items included completion of civil construction drawings in May (if the board approved moving forward), release of bid group 1 by early summer and site work beginning by late summer; construction completion was targeted for the first quarter of 2027.

Speakers noted procurement realities. Turner and Bayer Becker described plans for managing long-lead items and temporary storage, and confirmed the county's Buy American preference would be included where practicable. The design team also emphasized there will be further refinements as construction documents advance and that final costs could change during the bid and buyout processes.

After discussion and assurances from the coroner and sheriff, commissioners signaled support to proceed. Administrative staff said no formal motion was required to direct work to continue; the commissioners recorded consensus and indicated staff should proceed to the next stage of procurement and bidding.

The work session concluded with a routine motion to adjourn that was seconded and approved by the commissioners present.

The county did not present a final funding source breakdown at the session; the record lists the project budget estimate, bid-packaging approach and schedule but not a formal, approved contract or appropriation. Additional public meetings and procurement steps were described as forthcoming.