Valley County approves Cascade Annex remodel with Pacific West Construction, 2-1

Valley County commissioners voted to approve a contract with Pacific West Construction to remodel the Cascade Annex, authorizing a not-to-exceed price of $250,000.

The decision followed a presentation by Justin Cundy, owner of Pacific West Construction, who described a cost-plus, not-to-exceed approach and said his firm would meet the county's requirement that the prime contractor perform at least 20% of the work to avoid a formal rebid. Michael Irwin was identified as the project superintendent who would work on site.

The vote came after commissioners and legal counsel revisited whether the county needed to re-open bidding. Commissioner Thompson moved to approve Pacific West's proposal; the motion passed with two votes in favor and one opposed. Commissioner Caldwell registered the lone no vote.

Why it matters: the county said the remodel is time-sensitive and that using Pacific West will save money compared with previously bid estimates. Commissioners also raised concerns about transparency and the earlier bid process, and asked staff to document work and provide monthly project updates.

During discussion, legal counsel and commissioners repeatedly referenced the procurement threshold that requires a prime contractor to self-perform at least 20% of the work if the county is to avoid a new public bid process. Justin Cundy said Pacific West would self-perform project management and the superintendent role and could self-perform additional tasks as needed to meet the 20% threshold. Commissioners asked for documentation of change orders and for monthly progress reports from the contractor.

Commissioners also noted outstanding invoicing issues with prior contractors and consultants. One commissioner said invoices from Clearwater and Earthdata still appeared on the claims list and asked staff and legal counsel to review whether any recoveries or contract remedies are appropriate.

The board instructed staff to document unanticipated conditions and cost changes as the remodel proceeds and asked that the lead commissioner receive monthly updates on construction progress. After the vote, the contractor representatives said they would mobilize immediately and coordinate access to the annex.

The board did not adopt any changes to procurement rules at the meeting; commissioners instructed legal and staff to ensure the 20% self-performance requirement is met before final approvals.

The contract was approved with the following recorded outcome: two commissioners voted yes, one voted no. The board directed staff to monitor costs and report monthly.