Valley County approves $22,500 independent inspection agreement for new maintenance shop

Valley County commissioners voted May 12 to approve a professional-services agreement with Atlas for independent construction inspections on the county’s new maintenance shop. The contract amount discussed at the meeting was $22,500 for the duration of the project.

County staff said the independent inspector will supplement the building department’s work by performing specialty inspections — welding, bolt connections and compaction testing for the building pad — and will report directly to the commissioners rather than to the contractor. Staff emphasized the importance of an independent inspector for daily construction oversight of specialized work.

The board’s discussion also touched on budget pressures for the new shop. Staff said a planned interior bridge crane was a change order not included in the original contract and may be deferred if funds are tight; commissioners instructed staff to “prep for it” so the crane could be added later if funding permits. Costs for the crane itself were not specified in the meeting transcript.

A motion to approve the Atlas agreement was moved and seconded; the motion passed by voice vote. The transcript records a voice “Aye” with no roll-call tally recorded.