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Burke County staff recommend design contract for Human Services renovation; school central office funding to be held in county escrow
Summary
County staff recommended hiring a local design firm after an RFQ for adaptive reuse of the public health and social services building; the school system plans to fund and move to a new central office, freeing roughly 14,000 square feet for renovations.
County staff recommended the board consider awarding architectural and engineering design services for a planned adaptive‑reuse renovation of the public health and social services building (the Human Resources and Human Services—HRC/HHS—project), and described a parallel request to create a project ordinance to hold school system funds for a new central office.
The county manager (unnamed) said the school system has acquired the former Burke County Christian Ministries building and has drawn down about $1.5 million to acquire and design the new school central office. The school system requested a transfer of $10 million from its capital reserve into a project ordinance; the manager said the county will hold those funds in escrow and pay contractors on approved invoices rather than sending cash directly to the school board.
On the HRC/HHS renovation, staff described a multi‑year adaptive‑reuse plan for a building currently roughly 64,000 square feet that now houses roughly 250 county employees across public health and social services. The manager said the school central office move should free about 14,000 square feet in April–June 2026, which will help phasing. Staff presented cost estimates that the remaining construction cost is roughly $10 million and that total project cost might be in the $11.5 million range.
Staff said adaptive reuse is preferred to new construction because major mechanical systems appear sound and reusing the building avoids new site civil work; the team recommended single‑prime (single‑prime bidding) construction and a design process that will allow demolition and phased reoccupation. The manager estimated a planning period of six to eight months and a likely overall timeline to substantial completion by Dec. 31, 2027. He recommended maintaining a 10–12% project contingency to cover unknowns behind walls and staging costs.
Design procurement: the county posted a request for qualifications and received five submissions. Staff advanced two finalists (Holland and Hammock and the Sizemore Group) to in‑person interviews; the review panel recommended Holland and Hammock as the top‑scoring firm because the firm includes in‑house construction administration and demonstrable experience with clinical and social‑services space. Staff noted that the Sizemore Group subcontracts construction administration and has less local experience with social‑services programmatic requirements. The manager said the board will be asked in a forthcoming regular meeting (two weeks after the pre‑agenda) to award a design contract pending contract negotiation and county attorney review.
Why it matters: the project would centralize multiple county services, reduce leased or dispersed office space, and will likely require borrowing. Staff noted social services is a quasi‑state function and that an estimated portion of renovation costs allocated to DSS could be recovered over time through depreciation and indirect cost reimbursement rather than a single lump‑sum payment.
Discussion vs. decision: at the pre‑agenda meeting staff reviewed scope, procurement and a recommended firm; the board did not take a contract award vote. The school central office transfer and the design contract recommendation remain decision items for the upcoming regular meeting.
