Juvenile facility prices rose; county told additional funding likely needed and morgue added to surplus building plan

County project managers and architects reported that the juvenile facility project’s cost has increased since earlier estimates, and they told commissioners the county will likely need to amend the project budget. Staff also described a planned small morgue addition to a surplus building for which they estimated roughly $200,000–$225,000 in additional cost.

Architects and the county’s owner representative said the juvenile facility design expanded after new state guidance for juvenile facilities and because the county selected camera‑based separation options that increased square footage and security, producing higher mechanical, plumbing and electrical (MPE) costs than school‑type buildings. The team said they had performed a value‑engineering exercise that reduced the price substantially (claiming roughly $2 million in cuts), and had reduced the estimate to about $7.344 million including contingencies, but added that overall inflation and specialized security/mechanical requirements pushed the project above earlier target numbers. The team said the original 2019–2021 estimates were much lower and that market inflation since then has materially increased costs.

Separately, staff said Vanderbilt and other hospitals notified county officials they would no longer provide long‑term handling of certain out‑of‑hospital deaths, and the county must implement modest morgue capacity to store bodies temporarily. The planned morgue was described as a conditioned, secure room with a multi‑tier rack system (roughly six‑body capacity) and a generator backup; projected cost in the committee discussion was roughly $200,000–$225,000. Project managers told commissioners they had sought construction‑management economies by building the juvenile facility and the surplus building work concurrently and by sharing some construction‑management fees; even so, the additional morgue scope will require a budget amendment if the county elects to include it. Finance committee and staff will study funding options and present recommendations before any contract amendments or appropriation changes.