Franklin County approves adding design-build procurement option for certain construction projects

Speaker 3 told the meeting that current county construction procedures — revised after a jail project — prohibit a design-build approach and that the county has struggled with over-budget results on recent projects. "We did the Animal control building twice, and it's come in over budget," Speaker 3 said, arguing the county should ask for turnkey proposals through an architect to better meet budget constraints. Speaker 3 added the approach is legally permissible for county construction except for jails: "It's perfectly legal to do this. You can't do it on jails, but you can do it on other construction projects within the county government."

After the explanation, Speaker 1 moved to add procedures allowing design-build procurement for applicable county projects; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote with aye votes recorded. The change would allow the county to solicit proposals that combine design and construction into a single, turnkey contract rather than separate design and bid phases.

Supporters said the move aims to reduce cost overruns and deliver projects that better match the county's budget and program needs. Speaker 3 said the county would lay out requirements and state compliance with federal, state and local guidelines in request-for-proposals to attract responses that meet specified standards.

The meeting record does not specify a timetable for drafting the amended procurement procedures or the department responsible for implementation. No vote tallies by named commissioners were recorded in the transcript; motions were approved by general voice vote.