Justice building punch list complete; temporary occupancy, contingency closeout underway

Kootenai County commissioners received an update May 13 on construction of the county justice building, where the project team said the design consultant completed an initial punch list and the schedule remains on track for completion in June 2025.

"The design team came up, they did their first punch list," said David Mendez with Turner and Townsend, describing the contractor and design-team review that identifies finish items the contractor must correct before the county accepts the building for occupancy. Mendez said the county will work toward "bridal acceptance" and a temporary use permit that "allows us to occupy the building."

Mendez told the board the team is finalizing the soft-cost portion of the budget and closing contingency items. He said some line items ran over budget and others under, and cited temporary utilities as the largest overrun: "Heating that building through the winter was very costly, in order to keep with the schedule." He added, "So it's all looking good budget wise," while noting there will be adjustments to account for overruns.

The update did not include a new written cost sheet; Mendez said the figures had not changed since the prior meeting. No formal action or vote was taken on the construction report during the status update. A staff member on the call, identified as Jeff, said he had no further additions.

The commissioners heard the report during their regular status update meeting; no timeline changes beyond the June completion target were announced, and no additional funding requests were made on the record at the May 13 session.

The board moved on to other agenda items after the presentation.