Facilities committee clears path for Judicial Center geothermal contract negotiations

Dunn County’s Facilities Committee on Monday approved advancing contract negotiations with the top‑ranked bidder on a geothermal system for the Judicial Center and asked staff to bring borrowing authorization to the full County Board before any contract is signed.

County staff said the procurement used a blind scoring process for non‑cost factors (agency background, technical approach, schedule, warranty and commissioning) and then incorporated price to determine the highest‑scoring proposer. Committee materials identify the top scorer as “Very.” Staff presented a best‑and‑final offer and recommended the committee authorize contract negotiations and a subsequent full‑board vote on borrowing needed to pay for the work.

The recommendation prompted technical questions from committee members about whether existing geothermal fields should be connected. A vendor representative said connecting the Judicial Center and jail fields would likely cost about $130,000, while installing makeup boilers could cost roughly $20,000 and would provide necessary heat on an as‑needed basis. The vendor and staff agreed that the existing Judicial Center piping appears serviceable but that a full testing audit will be done before construction to confirm condition.

Committee members also asked about offsets. Staff said the county expects roughly $2.5 million in potential savings and tax‑credit opportunities (Inflation Reduction Act and other incentives) that will be evaluated during financing; those credits are not included in the line‑item bid total but will be considered as borrowing is structured.

A committee member moved to accept the recommended proposal and proceed to contract negotiations; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. Staff reiterated that no contract will be signed until the County Board votes to authorize any required borrowing.

Why it matters: The project is a multi‑million dollar facilities upgrade that could reduce energy costs and extend equipment life at the Judicial Center. Committee approval to negotiate keeps the procurement on schedule while preserving the Board’s control over final borrowing and contract execution.

Details and next steps: Staff will enter contract negotiations with the selected vendor, complete a piping audit before construction, and bring final contract terms and borrowing requests to the County Board for action.

Representative quotes (attributed to speakers listed in the meeting record): “That evaluation is done as part of that,” county staff said of the blind scoring process. The vendor’s representative summarized the piping tradeoffs: “We’re looking at probably in the neighborhood of $130,000 to connect the two systems and we can essentially for $20,000 put in makeup boilers that will serve the same purpose.”

Notes on record inconsistencies: The procurement materials and transcript use the name "Very" for the top‑scoring bidder in committee packets, but an audible reference later in the meeting sounded like a different name. The committee packet and staff presentation identify the bidder consistently as "Very," and this article uses that form while noting the transcript inconsistency.

Provenance: Topic introduced in committee presentation and Q&A (SEG 077–SEG 176) and action taken (motion and voice vote) in SEG 508–SEG 535.