Dunn County sets $22.5 million target for combined public safety center and courthouse project after bids exceed estimate

JE Dunn Construction told the Dunn County Board of Commissioners that bids for a combined public safety center and courthouse renovation came in higher than the commission's $20 million target, and the board set a new total project budget target of $22.5 million.

Ryan Anderson of JE Dunn told commissioners the combined scope includes a six-bay garage with drive-through bays, office space, a mezzanine with fitness and evidence processing space, and a basement designed around a potential shooting range, along with a modest courthouse addition and courtroom renovation. After bids and committee adjustments, JE Dunn said the building committee's recommended project totaled $23,670,643, a figure driven in part by site acquisition and a soils correction.

"Between the site acquisition, the soil correction, and the bids ' and then the owner putting several more things back in the project ' is why we're, you know, close to $4,000,000 over the $20,000,000," Anderson said, adding that additional geotechnical testing could reduce the soil-related line item. "The bids came in about 5% over budget."

Why it matters: County commissioners had previously set a $20 million planning number at a December meeting. Commissioners must now reconcile that figure with the building committee's program of needs. The project combines two capital efforts so some economies of scale are available, but the county must decide which features to keep now and which to defer.

What was discussed: Anderson reviewed a 37-item budget adjustments log showing roughly $3 million in potential deducts and explained which alternates and value-engineering items the building committee accepted or rejected. He identified two large drivers not in the earlier target: a $500,000 cost to acquire a new site and an estimated soils correction. Anderson said bidders often treated the soils issue conservatively and that another round of testing and a peer review could reasonably lower that estimate.

Commissioners debated trade-offs that could lower cost, including removing the shooting-range fit-out and associated basement square footage, eliminating in-floor heating, using county crews or stockpiled materials for some earthwork and leaning on contingency rather than deleting necessary program elements. Anderson cautioned that delaying construction carries escalation and opportunity costs; he said the project is currently scheduled to begin in May and would run about 16 months, with completion around August 2027 if work proceeds on that timeline.

Action and outcome: After discussion, a commissioner moved to set the total project budget at $22.5 million (the motion specified a total budget target, not a guaranteed maximum price). That motion passed on a roll-call vote. Anderson said JE Dunn will return in January with contract paperwork and options aligned to the commission's direction.

Next steps: The building committee will revisit the budget adjustments in light of the $22.5 million target and report back; JE Dunn will conduct or coordinate additional soils testing and return with revised documents and a recommended contractual path consistent with the commission's direction.