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Justice Center change order returns $287,404 credit; county staff outline $94.96 million contract value
Summary
Contractor and architect credits in Change Order No. 26 will net a $287,404 credit to Hamblen County and leave the Justice Center contract at about $94.96 million; project manager said subsurface mitigation and owner-driven changes account for most increases.
Jaren Delwater, Burwell project manager, told the Justice Center Public Safety Committee that Change Order No. 26 is "an accumulation of a lot of credits that we are holding to finalize this project." He detailed a package of contractor credits and deductive items returned to the county, including a moisture-mitigation credit of $119,221 and multiple allowances not used on the job.
"The total change order is $287,404 as a credit to the county," Delwater said, and later summarized the broader contract picture: the original contract value started at $92,208,000 and current contract value through change order 26 is $94,964,179, with cumulative change orders totaling $2,755,678. Delwater told commissioners that some underground mitigation — driven by unforeseen subsurface caverns — accounted for about $499,000 of added cost.
Commissioners pressed for detail about door replacements and which party would absorb costs; Delwater said the architect (Moseley) agreed to accept and credit certain door costs and other items, shifting net cost away from the county. He said the team will provide commissioners a printed and emailed breakdown of deducted items and credits.
A commissioner moved to accept Change Order No. 26; the motion was seconded and approved in committee. The committee recorded the motion as approval to accept the change order as presented; no formal individual tally was read into the record besides committee affirmations of "aye." Delwater said negotiations with Blaine Construction to finalize remaining items are ongoing and that he hopes to have all contractor matters settled by the next commission meeting.
What this means: the change order package reduces the immediate contractor charge to the county by the stated credit but leaves the overall project above original estimates because prior change orders and owner-driven scope adjustments remain in the contract totals. Staff emphasized that many of the largest change-order items were either owner-driven or tied to subsurface conditions not known at bid time. The committee did not alter project scope; it approved the presented change-order accounting and requested follow-up documentation.
Next steps: staff will share the full deduction and credit listing with commissioners by email and in print, and continue negotiations with Blaine Construction to finalize the remaining contractor closeout items.
