County debates costly overhaul of Verizon building for health department after engineer estimate

Wicomico County officials and budget observers said an engineering estimate presented at a May 11 work session put renovation of the county'owned Verizon building on Mount Hermon Road at roughly $8.5 million, prompting sharp questions about scope, funding and whether the county should pursue a full overhaul.

The health officer, Matthew McConaughey, told the council the presentation showed a conceptual design and that an engineering study and design phase were needed to generate firm costs. "It's been estimated somewhere between $100 to $250 a square foot," McConaughey said, and staff reported the building is about 34,000 square feet.

The estimate drew immediate skepticism. The county executive (unnamed in the transcript) told the council she had "absolutely no intention of spending $8,000,000 on that building," and urged cost reductions or a phased approach: "If we wanna do it... we'll start with this floor," she said, arguing the county must balance needs against other priorities.

Observers on the Open Agenda program noted the budget presentation lacked an itemized construction estimate and that the project did not appear in the five-year CIP as presented to the council. Finance staff said the $3,000,000 figure showing up in the capital budget reflected an early placeholder but that the CIP had not been updated with a final estimate. One council member said the lack of description for a $3,000,000 line made it difficult to explain the expenditure to constituents.

Staff proposed steps to refine the cost estimate, including a dedicated engineering/design study (staff cited a possible $500,000 study) and comparisons with recent health department projects in other Maryland counties. Participants noted earlier rental income from the Verizon building (about $1.8 million in previous years) had been used to balance prior budgets rather than set aside for renovation, and staff said proceeds from a possible sale of the Hurdle Building (estimated about $1.6 million) could be used as an offset.

Speakers emphasized trade-offs. Several observers warned that mid-project scope increases have driven past county projects well above initial budgets, and council members pressed for clearer, itemized cost information before authorizing major appropriations. The county executive and others also noted statutory requirements to provide the health department with appropriate space under COMAR but said those requirements do not obligate expensive "bells and whistles."

Next steps described by staff included commissioning an engineering design phase and returning to the council with more detailed cost and scope information; no formal appropriation or vote on the building was recorded at the May 11 session.