Rice County facilities staff reports on courthouse, LEC and dispatch projects; Healy Construction requests extension

Chris Glute, speaking for Rice County facilities, told the County Board at the Feb. 3 Committee of the Whole work session that several county building projects are underway and that one contractor has asked for an extension.

Glute said Metcon finished a safety and reception remodel at the Northfield satellite office in December, including added card readers, and that the project’s cost was $22,800. He described a countywide keying effort that will place three buildings (the government services center, courthouse and another facility) on the same key system to improve security and transparency.

On the law enforcement center (LEC) and the community corrections remodel, Glute said the original contract end date was Dec. 15 and that Healy Construction “kind of got off to a slow start.” He said Healy requested an extension that would have moved the end date to Jan. 30; the county had granted a first extension to the 30th but had not granted a second extension. Glute told commissioners the doors and frames had been delayed — the frames were expected soon — and that, as a temporary measure, the project was running behind schedule but scope reductions (for example, removing a lactation room) could bring the job in under budget. He also said there is a liquidated-damages clause of $250 per day.

“The frames are supposed to be here tomorrow,” Glute said. “We’re working through — we’re running a little bit behind schedule… but it does look like it’s gonna come in under budget.”

Glute reported that county staff completed painting on the upper level and Faribault Interiors has delivered most of the carpet; many desks are already installed. He said Metcon is doing the lower-level dispatch remodel and that painting and cabinet installation would occur the same week, with the low-voltage/electrical portion scheduled to go out for bid on Thursday.

Glute also outlined upcoming work at the Conservation Building: structural repairs planned to begin in about two weeks with NCC Builders, followed by roof replacement (shingles and fascia) when the weather permits.

Addressing building compliance, Glute said Minnesota changed elevator codes and that elevators in the Government Services Building and the LEC do not meet the new rules. “The good thing is we have five years to bring them up to code,” he said, and noted that elevator vendors are now offering state-bid pricing, which may reduce modernization costs.

On a separate facilities issue, Glute described a failed boiler vent pipe situation at the courthouse that led staff to temporarily vent boilers through a removed window while the county evaluates options to replace or shorten the chimney. “We had to do something temporarily…now we’re going to look and see what our options are,” he said.

In a question-and-answer exchange, a commissioner asked whether the county had granted a second extension to Healy; Glute said the first extension (to the 30th) was granted but a second extension had not been approved and that the county did not yet have a firm delivery date for the doors. Another commissioner asked whether state-bid pricing would eliminate sales tax; a county staff member replied that sales-tax applicability depends on the item and that being on a state bid does not automatically change sales-tax rules.

No formal board action was recorded on the Healy extension or the other facilities items during the work session. Staff indicated they will continue to monitor schedules and bring updates to the board as needed.