Alamance County authorizes manager to negotiate with CT Wilson for emergency services center renovation

Alamance County commissioners on Dec. 18 authorized the county manager to negotiate and execute a contract with CT Wilson to renovate a county-owned building at 780 Plantation Drive into a consolidated emergency services center.

County staff described the project as a design–bid–build conversion of an acquired building (the former BD Building). Staff said acquisition cost $7.3 million; the design contract totaled about $827,000; the renovation bid was reported at roughly $11,000,007.51; technology and equipment costs were estimated at about $5,000,000; staff presented a grand total near $25,427,000.

Funding cited by staff included a SCIF grant initially described as $15,000,000 (staff said interest accrued to bring the available amount to roughly $18,000,008.10), $7,400,000 in 9-1-1 grant commitments, and a $25,000 contribution from Duke Energy. Staff said no county funds were being requested at the meeting; the vote asked only to give the manager authority to negotiate with the low responsive bidder, CT Wilson.

Several commissioners voiced reservations before the final vote. One commissioner said he had "reservations that I'd like to have addressed" and would oppose granting authority that evening while leaving open support for the project later if questions are resolved. Another commissioner expressed concern that grant-funded projects often carry long-term maintenance costs that local budgets must cover.

Despite objections, the board voted to grant the county manager authority to negotiate with CT Wilson and to proceed with contract execution as amended in the motion (the agenda typo naming a different contractor was corrected to CT Wilson before the vote).

What’s next: Staff will proceed with contract negotiation with CT Wilson. Construction timing and final contract terms were not finalized in the meeting; staff said delaying authorization would postpone the overall schedule and completion timeline.