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County authorizes RFQ for administrative building remodel amid elevator and ADA concerns
Summary
Engineering was authorized to solicit qualifications from architectural firms to design a first‑floor remodel of the county administrative building. Commissioners urged the engineering team to parallel an elevator cost review and to ask design teams for cost‑conscious alternatives to avoid scope creep.
The Bonner County Board voted to permit the engineering department to solicit qualifications from architectural firms to prepare design and construction documents for a first‑floor remodel of the county administrative building.
Spencer Ferguson of the Engineering Department (Speaker 3) outlined the RFQ timeline and said he would solicit qualifications from a range of firms, with submissions due Jan. 14. He estimated advertisement costs in the local press would run roughly $300 for two weeks in one paper and up to $800 for another; the board advised limiting statutory legal advertising and using direct outreach to firms in the Spokane area to widen the pool.
Commissioners sought early cost context. One commissioner cited rough construction estimates between $200,000 and $500,000 for the remodel and noted design fees commonly run about 10 percent of project cost; Ferguson agreed those are reasonable ballpark figures but emphasized that unknowns in an older building (electrical, crawl spaces, ADA issues) make firm numbers premature. "It's usually like a budget 10% of the total project cost," Ferguson said.
A central concern was the building elevator and ADA access at the treasurer’s office. Treasurer’s office staff (Speaker 9) described customer congestion and security concerns on the 3rd floor and said the elevator had failed for extended periods in the past. Commissioners discussed whether to seek elevator repair or replacement estimates first, and whether elevator funding would come from facilities rather than the remodel project budget. The board directed engineering to proceed with the RFQ while running an elevator cost review in parallel and asked that shortlisted design teams provide brief conceptual alternatives and cost‑control recommendations to limit scope creep.
Outcome and next steps: The board authorized the engineering department to advertise the RFQ (advertising to run in the Bonner B at current rates) and to contact area firms directly; staff will run elevator repair/replacement estimates concurrently and report back with documentation and conceptual cost options.
