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Chatham County approves design change order for multi‑agency public safety facility after procurement and storm‑hardening discussion
Summary
After questions about procurement, MWB participation and construction risk, the Chatham County commission approved a design change order that incorporates more than 200 pre‑bid responses and aims to reduce future change orders; staff described the facility as elevated and built to high storm‑survivability standards.
Chatham County commissioners voted on Jan. 10 to approve a change order to the design contract for a multi‑agency public safety facility, after county staff walked the board through procurement history, bidder interest and technical revisions intended to reduce change orders during construction.
County staff said the procurement effort began in 2018; an initial solicitation received one bid and a later prequalification round drew increased interest, with 10 general contractors submitting prequalification statements. Staff said emphasis on minority and women‑owned business (MWB) participation affected the previous round of bids and prompted additional outreach. After more than 200 questions from contractors, staff issued multiple addenda and proposed a change order to incorporate those clarifications into the plans and specifications.
When asked about the project’s resilience, a county design official said the facility will be elevated outside a category‑5 storm‑surge zone and will be built to withstand category‑5 storm surge and an EF‑4 tornado. "This facility is actually going to be elevated outside of a category 5 storm surge zone...one of, if not the most survivable structure in all of Chatham County," the official said. Officials also said the building will include double and in some cases triple backups to operate off the grid for at least 72 hours and could support roughly 300 people overnight (and up to about 450 when including the command/policy group).
A commissioner asked staff to explain why an earlier set of four bids had been rejected; staff said those bidders struggled to meet MWB participation goals and that individual commissioners had to avoid direct contact with bidders to preserve procurement integrity. Commissioners emphasized the goal of reducing construction‑phase change orders by addressing technical questions during design.
A motion to approve the change order was made and seconded; the chair called for votes and the board approved the measure. The transcript records the vote as taken but does not include a roll call tally in the public record provided. The board also tabled a second‑reading item and recessed into executive session for personnel, land acquisition, appointments and litigation.
