Snohomish County officials gave the council a monthly update on the NewStart Centers on June 4, reporting that both project sites have received permits, general contractors are mobilizing, and site-operator agreements and management plans are moving toward completion.

Caramaine Hester, Chief Recovery and Resilience Officer, led the presentation and said permits for both buildings have been received and that construction is beginning. Lance Meinhold, project manager for facilities, described the contractors’ phased plans at the Edmonds site, saying demolition will proceed on the third floor followed by mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) rough-ins and drywall with floor-by-floor inspections. Meinhold said the contractor’s schedule is “very tight” and currently shows “0 days of gap,” and he warned that “any unforeseen conditions” would likely prompt requests for more time.

Meinhold gave current estimated completion dates: Nov. 12 for the Edmonds site (certificate of occupancy contingent on final inspection) and Dec. 22 for the Everett site. He said Everett’s schedule was extended to 203 days because a critical piece of electrical gear is scheduled to arrive Nov. 19; that gear’s timing is on the project critical path. Hester said both properties have contingency in their budgets and that the county built a 20% contingency into the total project budget.

On site operations, Hester said the Salvation Army will be the site operator for the Everett NewStart Center and is farther along in management-plan development, and the YWCA will be the site operator for the Edmonds center. Hester said the site-operator agreement language is being finalized with the county attorney’s office and that management plans will be tailored to each city’s requirements; she added that staffing will be 24/7 and the Everett site will start with on-site security while the Edmonds site will include a closed, automated gate and full site security.

Staff warned the council change orders are likely to increase as contractors uncover hidden conditions typical of working in older renovated buildings; Hester and Meinhold described several minor change orders already logged and said the list is expected to grow substantially once major construction progresses. Meinhold also noted permitting fees and impact fees have come in under some earlier estimates: one permit fee result was “approximately $80,000 less” than previously anticipated, and another city’s online portal suggested a figure closer to $50,000–$60,000 versus an initial budgeting line of about $175,000.

A council member asked about the overall budget for the two properties; during the exchange a figure was referred to in the transcript as “$30.38 and a half million” while staff later said they did not expect to exceed “38 and a half million.” Hester and Meinhold said they expected to manage within the overall budget and to move funds between sites if needed; they said excess budget exists on the Edmonds site that may be available to cover overruns on Everett.

The presentation included no formal council action; staff presented as informational and respondents said they would continue to finalize the site-operator agreements, manage change orders and prepare for final inspections.