Kenosha County staff warn human services building still months from occupancy as grant deadline looms

Kenosha County staff told the county committee that the county's new human services building is now expected to be ready for county possession in the third quarter of 2026, and that remaining contingency funds are roughly $500,000 based on current change orders and updates.

The update came after several supervisors pressed staff for details about missed target dates and the risk to grant funding. Committee members and project staff said construction delays, change orders and unforeseen conditions contributed to schedule slippage and higher costs.

The county's project manager reported the county's projection is for the county to transition into the space in quarter three of 2026. A county staff member said, "we are at just above the three quarters of the allotted contingency" after recent updates and that about $500,000 remains in contingency for known items. Project staff said two loans tied to the county's economic development work are pending but unrelated to the building schedule.

Supervisors asked whether the county would meet a June 30, 2026 deadline tied to an identified grant. County staff said they have discussed the schedule with the grant administrator and that the definition of "project complete" used by the grantor is not strictly occupancy: "It just needs to be complete," one staff member said, adding that completeness might not require that the county have moved personnel into the building. Staff said they have begun filing a second amendment to request pushing the grant project date to September to avoid losing funding.

Project contractors and the county attributed delays to several factors identified after bid, including additional vapor-mitigation work, firewall design required by the city after permit issuance, removal and repair of deteriorated roof decking, lead abatement discovered during roof work, and other unforeseen structural and mechanical repairs. Contractors described the work as "tedious" but said it had not altered the overall critical path to the degree that would make completion impossible. One contractor said, "I don't see [a problem] with the date we're talking about," adding a caveat for extreme events such as severe weather.

On contingency and cost, staff summarized that original contingency and change-order work tallies put total known commitments at about $2.5 million out of a roughly $3 million allocation; the remainder is the roughly $500,000 cited in committee discussion. Staff also described cost-per-square-foot context: the project covers about 45,000 square feet and prospective final costs, if remaining contingency were spent, would be in the neighborhood of $230 per square foot, which staff compared to another recent local project with higher per-square-foot costs.

Supervisors said they want timely, clear notice if schedule or budget risks change. One supervisor said she did not want potential loss of grant funds "buried in an email" and asked that staff notify the committee promptly of critical developments.

Staff noted final occupancy requires a city-issued occupancy permit and that the county may stage moving activities before the formal occupancy date. Project staff and county administration said they will continue to coordinate with the grant administrator and report schedule clarifications to the committee.

Ending: Committee members asked for a more detailed contingency breakdown on a future chart; staff agreed to provide updated dollar amounts and to continue reporting schedule and grant-clarification progress to the committee.