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County to hire Kraus Anderson for $12,800 building condition assessment of current jail; feasibility study to follow
Summary
Beltrami County staff presented a $12,800 proposal from Kraus Anderson to evaluate the condition of the existing jail building. The assessment is intended to inform a subsequent feasibility study and options — reuse, partial reuse, or demolition — funded from the jail sales-tax project funds and bond proceeds.
County administration presented a proposal from Kraus Anderson for a building-condition assessment of the existing Beltrami County jail at a cost of $12,800. The assessment is intended as an initial, detailed step to determine whether the existing facility can be repurposed, partially reused, or should be demolished.
Administrator Barry (presenting as county design/operations lead) said the assessment would review internal systems — HVAC, electrical, roofing, foundation, fire protection — and is expected to take three to four weeks. An architect-led feasibility study would follow and use the assessment results to evaluate three primary options: remodel and reuse the entire building; reuse part and remodel part; or demolish and hold the land for future campus needs.
Barry said funding for both the assessment and subsequent work is contained in a separate project fund financed by the county sales-tax initiative and an initial bond issuance; he referenced approximately $6–8 million being held in that project account from the original jail financing and bid savings. Commissioner Winger asked whether the assessment would indicate whether further work was warranted; Barry said the assessment is designed to answer that question and could indicate that reuse is not cost-effective. Barry estimated combined costs for both studies might be “somewhere in the 50,000 or less” range but said that additional design and construction costs would be estimated only after the board chose a direction. He also noted that the project would need to consider options for a sally port/tunnel connection between new and existing facilities.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about funding sources and whether earlier, higher-level analyses could be reused. Barry said prior analyses were a “50,000-foot” view and that the Kraus Anderson assessment will be a more detailed 5,000-to-10,000-foot level analysis suitable for cost estimating and feasibility decisions.
