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PBA briefs committee on project savings; facilities reports show multiple ongoing construction projects
Summary
The county’s Project Building Authority reported $1.6 million in returned savings from recent projects and said earlier oversight on site selection and soil work can reduce construction costs; the facilities director provided updates on recovery court, Plainview and the transfer station.
The Rutherford County Project Building Authority (PBA) told the Property Management Committee it had returned approximately $1.6 million to county budgets from completed health-and-safety projects and outlined steps the PBA takes to reduce change orders and site-costs on county construction.
Gary Wischnewski, chairman of the PBA, described the board’s membership, oversight role and recent work. He said closed projects in Rockvale, Kittrell, LaVergne and Walter Hill produced about $1.6 million in savings; of that amount, he said approximately $800,000 was directly attributable to actions he and the PBA had taken. He outlined ways the PBA can provide further value, including earlier site-selection input, soil analysis, stakeholder meetings to reduce mid-project change orders, and stronger front-end engineering to limit undercutting and hauling costs.
Wischnewski walked commissioners through the PBA’s responsibilities — vetting contractors and architects, reviewing contracts, attending on-site meetings and monitoring punch lists — and said the group is overseeing the Plainview Public Health & Safety Building and other county projects. Commissioners asked about conflict-of-interest policy and costs; Wischnewski said members serve without pay and reported about $30,000 in legal counsel costs on recent projects.
Facilities Director Adam Dodd gave a monthly project report. He said an unsafe building at the Rockvale Community Center was removed after county, legal and leaseholder (Ruritan Club) consultations. He reported progress on the recovery court addition (framing, sheathing, trusses and roof work; phase 1 completion estimated for February) and said site work on the Plainview Public Health & Safety Building was about 70 percent complete with an October 2025 target completion date. Dodd also updated the committee on the county transfer station: concrete paving was ongoing, pond work completed, utility tie-ins in progress, and the contractor was targeting an April certificate of occupancy.
During the facilities report, committee members asked about signage for recovery court and whether the building should have a monument or label; Dodd took the question for follow-up. The committee moved to receive Director Dodd’s report and approved it by voice vote.
PBA and facilities staff emphasized that early engagement on site selection and soil/stabilization work can avoid large cost overruns, and both the PBA chairman and the facilities director said those practices had produced measurable savings on recent projects.
The PBA said it currently manages one active project (Plainview) and requested more projects to apply its oversight; commissioners and staff acknowledged the board’s role as a county resource and said project-by-project decisions will determine whether the PBA is engaged.
