As this year comes to a screeching close, county officials are apparently reflecting on the turbulent months spent sweating and haggling over the project to expand the Claiborne County Jail.
The Correctional Partnership Act Committee, commonly known as the Jail Committee, is beginning to reap the fruits of its labor with the approval last week of a contractor to proceed with the expansion project.
The committee unanimously placed its stamp on architect favorite Bell & Associates Construction as the bidder with the most to offer.
However, the price of doing business with the Knoxville-based firm will likely exceed the $10.2 million cap previously placed by the county for the construction of the jail addition – something committee member and county commissioner James Hatmaker adamantly opposed during the meeting last week.
Apparently, Bell & Associates is willing to work with the county to reduce the bottom line. Firm representative Allan Cox said he will “tweak the numbers” to come up with a way to use the preferred precast units at a reduced cost to the county.
The bid proposal set the project base cost at $10.6 million with a couple options. If the county agreed to go with masonry rather than the precast molds the price would decrease by some $580,000, according to the bid tabulation form handed out by Cope Associates of Knoxville architect Peter Ludman, who is the one spearheading the construction design.
However, it would cost the county an additional 90 days on the construction schedule, if the less expensive masonry was chosen.
A second alternative using veneer brick pods would cost the county an additional $265,000. Choosing this alternative would bump up the total cost of the project to $10,865,000, Ludman said.
County mayor Jack Daniels questioned the higher costs of using the precast over the masonry, citing less labor involved in precast molds.
Cox and fellow Bell & Associates representative Tony England agreed using precast molds would require digging of holes and pouring of materials in addition to the shipping costs.
The county, Ludman said, would see a greater return on its investment if the precast molds were chosen. Precast, he said, allows for greater quality control and less maintenance than masonry, over time.
While discussing the renovation portion of the project, Ludman suggested the county add an extra $200,000 in contingency money to cover the costs of kitchen and other equipment purchases.
The cost of renovating portions of the existing jail to accommodate the expansion is currently set at $768,000.
The bid includes those subcontractors who are expected to complete specific jobs. Interstate Mechanical will be responsible for the HVAC and plumbing. Comer Electric is slated to handle the electrical portion of the expansion project.
The masonry work is expected to be done by Wasco.
The bid tabulation form included details of two other bid proposals submitted by Rentenbach Constructors and Hale Construction. Both contractors entered bids whose bottom lines were a bit higher than Bell.
Bell & Associates has apparently been in the jail expansion business for a while. The firm’s latest project at the Coffee County Jail came in at some $20.5 million. The contractors have also done business with the Morgan County Correctional Facility and Brushy Mountain Penitentiary.
The jail committee will meet at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 7 to review the tweaked bid numbers presented by Cox and England. The full Claiborne Commission will then have the chance to peruse the new numbers at a meeting set for 6:30 p.m. that same day.
The jail committee will meet inside the Claiborne Justice Center training room. The Commission is expected to gather inside the large courtroom at the Claiborne Courthouse.
The final bid decision is expected to be voted on by the full commission during its regular monthly meeting on Jan. 25.
Reach Jan Runions at 423-254-5588 or on Twitter @scribeCP.
