Hamblen County approves $127,628 change order after Justice Center gate destroyed; contractor says replacement will delay final testing

Hamblen County commissioners heard an update on the Justice Center construction, approved Change Order No. 25 totaling $127,628 and were told a waste-hauler struck and destroyed a primary security gate, requiring full replacement and delaying final testing and substantial completion into late September 2025.

The change order — described in the meeting as two potential project change orders, PCO 102 and PCO 103 — increases the contract value from $95,038,489.11 to about $95,166,117.11, a construction representative said. County officials and the contractor said the project was roughly 99.58% complete before the gate incident but that the gate and its embedded electronics must be replaced down to the foundations before final system testing can be completed.

Darren, a Burwell Construction representative, told the Justice Center Public Safety Committee that systems testing and commissioning for audio-visual, HVAC, fire and security were ongoing and that “the gate itself has to be completely replaced all the way down to the foundations.” He said the replacement has a 10-week lead time and that the contractor’s current estimate for repair and related approvals is between $60,000 and $100,000.

Why it matters: the gate and its electronics are integral to final security, smoke-purge and other systems testing. County staff said they cannot complete final system tests or accept final completion until those systems are restored and approved by the architect and consultants.

Officials gave a revised schedule: the county and contractor are planning an integrated week of testing during the week of Sept. 22, 2025, with a target substantial-completion date of Sept. 26, 2025, subject to the results of those tests and any approved time extensions. The contractor retains a 60-day period after substantial completion to finish punch-list items; county staff said that could push county move-in activities into late 2025 and into early 2026 depending on what the testing and punch-walks reveal.

Change order details presented to commissioners break the $127,628 total into three line items: PCO 102, a masonry (CMU) wall with a precast wall cap, $36,547; PCO 103, a railing package and associated items (initial railing work and wheel stops) totaling about $26,500; and an owner-requested new stair/access between upper and lower site levels, $64,581. The presenter said the wall cap will use precast concrete because there was insufficient brick on-site for the originally drawn brick roll-lock cap.

Commissioner questions focused on insurance, cost responsibility, safety and site access. Commissioner Green asked whether errors-and-omissions or other insurance would cover the wall and related items; the contractor representative said negotiations with insurers and consultant reviews were ongoing and that final allocation of responsibility had not been settled. “Those are all the items that we’re dealing with in regards to negotiations that we have ongoing,” the representative said.

Commissioners also pressed for clarity on safety: the railing was described as a pedestrian barrier rather than a vehicle barrier, and staff said the stair will include integrated railings. Commissioner Oliver asked whether the new stair might encourage people to bypass the railings; staff replied the stair will be integrated with the railing system and that bypassing would require walking roughly 250 feet to reach the next public access point.

The commission moved and seconded approval of Change Order No. 25 and the measure passed. The audible vote on the meeting recording included several “ayes,” one explicit “no,” and one commissioner saying, “I abstain with cause.” The meeting record did not include a full roll-call tally in the audio transcript provided, and staff said final allocation of responsibility with insurers remains under negotiation.

The contractor and county also said they plan a limited public walkthrough after substantial completion: “The sheriff and I are working on a plan where once we get substantial completion … we’ll open up a veil block and … through the Justice Center part to see the courtrooms,” a project representative said, noting not all areas would be open to the public.

Commissioners were presented with the project’s current contractual values, the change-order amounts and the new target completion week; staff said they will continue to update the commission as negotiations with insurers and final-system testing proceed.