Jamestown Community College officials told the Audit Control Committee on April 17 that asbestos discovered beneath carpet during renovation of the college’s Learning Commons required additional abatement work and raised total project costs.

Kathleen Denison, interim vice president for finance and operations at Jamestown Community College, said the original project budget was $572,000 and that additional abatement and related costs increased the total project estimate. Denison said final contractor and architect figures reduced a previously estimated $275,000 increase to roughly $187,000 in total additional project cost. Because the state project (C16199) will pay 50% of any increase only if local sponsors increase their contributions, the county’s 25% share of that net increase would be $46,694. Denison said savings from an under-budget asbestos abatement in the annex building returned $23,500 to fund balance, producing a net county need of $23,194.

Denison outlined steps taken to limit costs, including reducing the project contingency and having the architect vet the contractor’s change order. Committee members asked whether the asbestos would have been found without removing the carpet; Denison replied that discovery was unlikely had the carpet remained in place.

Legislators emphasized the value of the state contribution and discussed the idea of a dedicated contingency fund for these types of line-item overruns in future projects. Denison and legislators agreed that unused county funds would revert to county fund balance at project close.

The committee voted to approve the county’s $23,194 use of fund balance for the project; members said the college had tightened estimates and pursued savings as requested.