Finance committee advances courthouse design-development package; approves alternates and raises contingency

The Boone County Finance Committee on Jan. 16 recommended approval of the courthouse design-development package and forwarded several alternates and budget adjustments to the full county board.

Clayton Haldeman of Kluber Architects and Engineers described the project schedule and phasing and said the team expects construction-document approval by the board March 20 and procurement completed by mid-April, with substantial completion targeted around April 2026. "We would anticipating we will get approval on the final construction documents. We expect that procurement is going to be complete by mid April," Haldeman said.

Randy Darnell of CFS told the committee the design-development submission includes hundreds of pages of drawings and specifications and that CCS (the owner's representative) recommends approval of the design-development phase and movement to construction documents. He said the project contingency was increased from 5% to 10% to give the county a buffer against bidding fluctuations. "We certainly wanted to have enough contingency in the project to cover any bidding fluctuations," Darnell said.

Dan Saavedra of Saavedra Group Architects discussed the three alternates the committee focused on: copper roofing for historic accuracy and longevity, full fire-protection sprinkler suppression for the entire building (staff said allowing partial suppression temporarily required a plan to complete suppression within a five-year timeline), and a functional clock for the courthouse tower. Saavedra described copper roofing as more durable than shingles and noted a competitive bid for copper at about $350,000 compared with higher offers from other contractors.

Committee discussion covered a range of issues: restroom placement and whether to add new toilets in the addition (county members raised access and Illinois EPA permitting concerns), the relative lifecycle costs of copper versus shingle roofs, insurance and code benefits of a fully fire-suppressed building, and the clock’s cost and community symbolism. One committee member noted that adding a single restroom could cost "six figures" and that the project already exceeded preferred spending targets; another argued that installing sprinklers now is less disruptive and likely less expensive than retrofitting later.

The committee voted to forward the design-development package to the full county board for approval and approved a motion to send alternates 7, 8 and 10 (the copper roof, full sprinkler system, and the clock) to the county board for final decision. Committee members said those alternates will increase the project total by about $640,000. "So if have I done my math right? This will increase what we have here by $640,000. Correct?" one member asked; staff confirmed the estimate.

Separately, county staff said they are working to get lead-paint abatement quotes. Becky, a county project staff member, said she met with a contractor and with Scandroli to determine which areas need full removal and which can be encapsulated; she expects bids to be available for the next board meeting. "There's some more details involved. Some of it needs to be removed because there's demolition. Others, we're hoping we do not have to remove and it can just be encapsulated," she said.

The package will be presented to the full Boone County Board for final approval; staff will return with procurement documents and lead-abatement estimates.