County shows preliminary design for consolidated community and economic development office in old library

Accomack County staff presented preliminary interior designs on Sept. 17 for converting the county’s former library into a consolidated Community and Economic Development building, saying the project would bring multiple county functions under one roof and add public meeting space.

Jeremy Shipfoot, deputy director of public works, reviewed work already finished on the exterior — new windows, a 50-year flat roof, removed dormers, new gutters and asbestos-containing flooring removal — and said the project is currently at 35% design. Shipfoot displayed before-and-after photos and told the board the initial budget was roughly $1.4 million and “we're down to about 900, almost a million dollars right now.”

Lee Pambit, deputy county administrator for community and economic development, walked the board through the interior layout and operations plan. The proposed first floor includes expanded customer-service counters, two public meeting rooms (a large 1,287-square-foot room and a smaller 900-square-foot room), 22 planned staff seats with room for future expansion, secure staff-only areas with proximity-card access, consultation rooms for private meetings and an open “hotel” bullpen area for inspectors who spend most of their time in the field.

Nut graf: The project is intended to consolidate a department that is currently split between buildings, improve customer service by creating a one-stop counter for permitting and public inquiries, and add meeting capacity for larger gatherings. Staff said a contractor is already on board under a job-order-contracting method and that construction could begin early next year.

Board members asked about the timeline, occupancy and cost drivers. Pambit said the design turnaround target was late November but that the project might be delayed; he estimated construction at “probably at least 4 or 5 months from beginning to end” once work starts. He and Shipfoot said the county is using a job-order-contract (JOC) approach and that the contractor is working now on pricing and coordination, which the staff said is producing some savings compared with a traditional design-bid-build approach. Parking for the site was shown as 22 spaces.

Staff also described security features: card access for staff areas, consultation rooms that keep visitors out of staff-only space, and a widened corridor to support registration or exhibit tables. The board was shown a workroom for plan review and a staff shower to allow inspectors coming from muddy field conditions to clean up.

Ending: Staff said they expect to return with final design documents and that, if scheduling holds, construction could begin early next year and reach occupancy roughly 4–5 months after mobilization. The board did not take an approval vote on the design at this meeting; staff said the contractor is already engaged for pricing and coordination under the JOC method.