Douglas County approves $5.14 million contract amendment to finish Public Safety Building main level

The Board of Douglas County Commissioners on Aug. 13 approved Contract Amendment No. 2 and a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) with contractor JE Dunn to finish the main level of the Douglas County Public Safety Building Phase 2.

Commissioners voted unanimously, 5-0, to accept the GMP for the added phase 2 scope. Commissioner Reed moved to approve the contract amendment as read into the record and the motion was seconded; the motion passed without further roll-call detail in the meeting minutes.

The approved construction amount in the motion was $5,144,722 for the phase 2 added scope. County staff and JE Dunn representatives told the commission the construction estimate previously shown to the board was roughly $5.1 million and that the project team identified roughly $600,000 in cost reductions during recent value-engineering and pricing work.

Why it matters: The additional finish work covers about 12,000 square feet of previously shelled main-level space intended for sheriff and emergency-management functions, including offices, locker and fitness space, vehicle maintenance bays and a public lobby. County staff and the sheriff’s office said completing the space will provide room for current operations and some built-in growth.

Architect Jeff Lane of Trainer Architects outlined the scope and design evolution, saying staff and user groups worked through schematic and design-development details over the last three to four months to finalize the office layout, audiovisual needs and access control. "We do have that built in, to this space, so it's not just a move in ready and there's enough space for growth for the sheriff," Lane said.

Mike Comer of JE Dunn described cost pressures that shaped the GMP. Comer said recent tariff increases and market escalation are significant drivers of material and construction costs, and he cited a projection that tariffs and escalation could combine to push construction prices up roughly 10 percent by year-end. "There's really no better time than today to do construction. It usually never gets cheaper," Comer told commissioners when discussing the economic outlook and schedule implications.

Comer also said sequencing the phase 2 work to roll into the already-underway phase 1 will reduce remobilization and shorten the overall schedule for that portion of the work; the team estimated the integrated approach would add roughly two months to the current schedule compared with doing the phase separately but would better align moves to the Justice/Law Enforcement Center renovation schedule.

Stacy Simmons of the Sheriff’s Office described how the finished garage and bays will be used. "Originally, when we asked for this area, it was for the dive team and the dive equipment," Simmons said, listing boats, ATV/UTV storage and space for vehicle processing and coroner-scene work. Simmons said the command bus will remain parked elsewhere for now and that some vehicle-processing is done today at a secured area at Hillcrest Wrecker.

On cost detail, JE Dunn told the board that the parking-lot expansion and a larger building generator were priced as alternates during the original bid and that earlier bid pricing was being honored for those items. Commissioners were also told the electrical subcontract is included in the larger construction line items presented to the board.

County staff said the project budget will be covered by a mix of cash on hand and reallocated CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) funds and contingency; staff described the financing as covered but did not present a single-line, unambiguous project-budget total during the public discussion (the motion read a budget figure that was unclear in the audio record). Any unused contingency or realized savings would be returned to the county, staff said.

The board thanked the project team and contractor for the work to refine pricing and move the project forward. After the vote, the item returned to the regular agenda and commissioners proceeded with appointments and other business.