Brunswick County commissioners received a detailed engineering update on the Health and Human Services Emergency Operations Center (EOC) design‑build project during their regular meeting. Mr. Pinnicks, the project presenter, told the board the project "is on track and on schedule. It's gonna be a beautiful building."

The project will build a four‑story, roughly 140,000‑square‑foot facility on the current walking‑trail footprint near Old Ocean Highway that consolidates health, veterans, environmental health, WIC, and Department of Social Services (DSS) staff. The fourth floor will house the new EOC; staff moving into the building total about 308 employees. Schematic and design‑development phases are complete and the design team — the general contractor Edifice and architect McMillan Paz and Smith (EMPS) — are preparing construction documents.

Why this matters: the building consolidates multiple county services into a single, hardened facility intended to improve resilience and emergency operations. The project also carries significant budget implications and schedule risk: the design‑build contract GMP for construction and hard soft costs was presented as $81,080,219, and county‑responsible items (IT infrastructure, furniture, fixtures and equipment) plus contingency were shown in the presentation as pushing the total program funding toward $100,000,000. The presenter said the construction portion is currently estimated at about $57.8 million, soft costs about $17.6 million, and preconstruction/design administration about $5.5 million. County‑responsible IT/AV/cabling and FFE were listed at approximately $16,260,000, with an additional $2,700,000 contingency noted.

Schedule and approvals: the team expects EMPS to review the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) with county staff in mid‑May, with a notice to proceed for construction in late May or early June if the county approves the GMP. The schedule shown during the presentation lists substantial completion in January 2028 and final completion in February 2028. As the presenter noted, "we're supposed to get the guaranteed maximum price by the schedule in May," and the county cannot authorize construction past that milestone without approving the GMP.

Site, resilience and utilities: the chosen site reuses the existing driveway off Old Ocean Highway, avoiding a new DOT driveway permit, and requires enlarging the stormwater pond for added impervious area. The generator will be sited on the side parking area adjacent to recently upgraded BMC high‑voltage vaults; the presenter said the generator will be elevated on a belly tank, sized to power the entire building, and a connection port for a trailer‑mounted generator will be provided. Commissioners asked whether the generator should receive additional physical screening or a protective enclosure to mitigate damage from flying debris; staff said they will ask the architect to study more robust screening beyond zoning‑required landscaping.

Security and operations: the design includes widespread card access and cameras as part of the county‑responsible IT and security scope. Commissioner Cook asked, "Do we have that 3 tier perspective whereby...we've gotten input from department heads?" — raising concerns about layered access so public visitors cannot tailgate into secured zones. The presenter responded that most corridor and EOC doors will have card readers, and that two doors into a large shared conference room on the fourth floor were intentionally left without card readers so the room can be shared by multiple departments; the door from that conference room into the EOC corridor will be card‑controlled.

Communications and AV: commissioners discussed the need for dedicated audio‑visual, livestream and press‑briefing capabilities in the EOC. Commissioner Williams asked, "Will there be a space and capability in there to do something like, livestream press briefings and things during an event?" The presenter said yes, and that the EOC will include dedicated data rooms, raised floors for cabling, and AV infrastructure as part of the IT/FF&E scope. County IT and operations services have been engaged in planning those systems.

Code and site constraints: the presenter noted the building is sited outside the 500‑foot fall radius of an existing communications tower to meet code constraints and that the structure will meet applicable building‑code wind requirements for the county (discussed during the meeting in reference to the local wind‑speed zone). Commissioners requested staff recheck hardening and sheltering details for the EOC and generator.

Cost drivers and next steps: staff said two main items increased scope since early planning — a larger than anticipated DSS operating unit and the decision to include the EOC in the consolidated project — which raised total area and cost. Presenters also flagged tariff risk as an unknown that could raise costs before the GMP is locked. County staff said they will continue biweekly coordination with the design‑build team, meet in person with EMPS the following Wednesday, and circle back with department heads to confirm final requirements before construction documents and GMP finalization. No formal action or vote was requested at the meeting.

Funding, timeline and decision points: the presentation listed a mix of reserves and a planned limited‑obligation bond issuance in 2028 as funding sources; specific debt‑service estimates and year‑of‑principal figures were shown in the slide deck. The principal near‑term decision point is county approval of the design‑build GMP in mid‑May; if approved, staff indicated a notice to proceed and site work could follow in late May/early June.