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County project manager: Justice Center expansion within contingencies but several items pending
Summary
Turner & Townsend reported on Jan. 7 that the Justice Center expansion has used 61% of its design contingency and 29% of construction contingency; several change items remain unpriced or under review including evidence‑storage fire suppression and elevator work.
David Mendez, project manager with Turner & Townsend, gave Kootenai County commissioners a status update on the Justice Center expansion on Jan. 7. "I've distributed the update to the spreadsheet on where we stand with the contingencies for the construction of the new Justice Centre expansion," Mendez said, noting the project has used 61% of the design contingency and 29% of the construction contingency.
Mendez told the board that several of the items flagged in yellow on his spreadsheet are new and have not yet been executed. He said he expects to finalize and execute items that are completed in the coming week and that some items originally expected to carry costs have returned as "no cost." He specifically identified a minor added work item — installing a hose bib on the lower floor — and additional elevator costs that arose after an elevator review with the local jurisdiction and the elevator subcontractor.
On evidence-storage fire protection, Mendez said the wet‑pipe sprinkler system originally in the plans is problematic for the evidence room. "We've come up with an alternative similar to a halon — I'm not sure what that system is called — but it's a system that doesn't rely on water," he said. He added that the other alternative is a dry sprinkler head system that is "significantly less expensive." Pricing for both alternatives is pending.
On construction contingency items, Mendez said he had moved $10,000 from the design contingency into a fire‑protection line that the contractor missed in the subcontractor scope. He also reported an outstanding item to repair damage to a bridge beam; that repair remains a rough order-of-magnitude estimate and is not finalized.
Mendez said furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) quotes are still outstanding. He plans to finalize FF&E orders by the end of the month or the first week of February to meet the installation schedule and offered commissioners options for reviewing the proposed furnishings.
No formal actions or votes were taken during the update; commissioners accepted the status report and asked staff for follow-up materials on FF&E and the remaining contingency items.
The update reflects continuing close monitoring of contingencies, several outstanding contractor and equipment issues that require pricing, and follow-up coordination with county staff before the next status meeting.
