Coffey County approves $1.31 million payment to River City Construction; OKs change orders for law enforcement center

The Coffey County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 21 authorized payment application No. 13 for the Coffey County Law Enforcement Center, approving $1,310,898.36 to River City Construction for work completed through the pay period ending Dec. 31, 2024. County Counselor Wade Buie led the project update and asked the board to approve the application.

The payment includes multiple subcontractor line items and stored materials listed in the application; Buie noted the largest single electrical line item included both completed work and stored materials. "The payment that's due with the retainage taken out is $1,310,898.36," Buie said during his presentation.

Why it matters: the county's payments and change-order decisions affect the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and the construction contingency for the Law Enforcement Center, which the county earlier set at $25,712,855 for phase 1. The project team told the commission the construction contingency remains available for unanticipated costs; the county was given a detailed breakdown of subcontractor work tied to the current payout.

The board also approved two construction change orders tied to phase work: - Change Order 27: The board agreed to change the mezzanine finish from painted steel to galvanized steel at a net cost shown in the paperwork as $5,748 to be charged to the project construction contingency. Buie explained the county's rationale, citing long-term durability and reduced maintenance needs: "Whatever you don't have to paint ... it gets nasty, it gets and then you have to strip it and repaint. And other entities when we were in the process of building and I went around and visited other jails, that's the first thing they said. Whatever you don't have to paint, don't paint." - Change Order 28: This package covered three potential change orders (PCOs 47, 51 and 54). The line items included a credit related to connector-corridor roof-drain revisions (PCO 47, credit of $3,733), a PCO to add a sink hookup in the evidence-processing room (PCO 51, $5,041), and a PCO adding gas regulators for kitchen and laundry equipment (PCO 54, $1,404). The combined documents show a net deduction of $2,712 to be returned to the project construction contingency. Buie read the itemized back-up and explained that the subcontractors and River City had documented the work and credits.

Buie told the commission the change orders as presented do not change the project's GMP: "no change related to either change order in the project guaranteed max price of $25,712,855.00." The board moved, seconded and voted to approve both change orders and the pay application during the same meeting; the roll call vote was recorded as "aye," and the chair declared the motions carried.

The county acknowledged the pay application funds will come from the general ledger construction project fund (Fund 111) and that unused contingency reverts to the county. Buie and River City staff said the construction contingency and GMP remain under active management and that ongoing work (punch-list and final occupancy steps) is expected to continue through the rest of the year.

Ending: The commission's approvals maintain the project's construction schedule while reallocating small contingency amounts for the galvanized mezzanine and documenting credits elsewhere. Commissioners said they will continue to receive detailed monthly pay-app breakdowns and change-order backup as work proceeds.