County facilities director seeks approval of $31,031.98 change order for Admin/HHS remodeling; sprinkler freeze mitigation remains uncertain

Dave Curtis, Johnson County facilities director, presented a consolidated change order package Wednesday totaling $31,031.98 for the Administration and Health & Human Services building remodeling project and briefed supervisors on a separate unresolved issue about sprinkler pipes freezing above ceilings.

Curtis said the change orders include additional power and data work in the treasurer’s office and installation work above ceiling spaces to reduce the risk of sprinkler freezing. He said the county has received guidance from the fire marshal that above‑ceiling spaces must be kept at or above a minimum temperature (about 40 degrees) to avoid freezing.

"Our only real solution to that is we're gonna install a bunch of fan forced electric heaters tied to that control system above the ceiling," Curtis told the board, but he said staff cannot guarantee the fix will fully eliminate the issue because of air infiltration from older windows and confined spaces around the skywalk interface.

Supervisors questioned whether architects should have anticipated the problem and whether existing contingency will cover additional heater installation costs. Curtis said the project’s remaining contingency is limited (under $40,000 after the current change order) and that adding electric heaters and associated controls could put the work over contingency.

Curtis said some remaining change‑order requests are still under negotiation with contractors and that the board would consider the current consolidated change order package at its formal meeting. No final decision on heaters or additional funding was made during the work session.