Supervisors hold work session to map out next phases for new public safety center

by Bob Beach

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors joined Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick, John Hanson of Midwest Construction Consultants and Michael Hart of Northland Securities for a work session Monday, May 18 to discuss the next steps in the construction of a new jail and public safety center now that the bond referendum for the project has been approved by Allamakee County voters. Hanson told the Board that some kind of interim financing should be in place to cover expenses until the construction contract is awarded this fall.
Hart told the Board that the $5.1 million bond sale approved by Allamakee County voters May 5 would not take place until after the construction contracts are awarded partly because the bids for the project may come in lower than the estimated cost (in which case the bonded amount could be reduced) and because once the bonds are sold, the County has only 36 months to spend the funds to avoid tax complications. He added that Northland Securities would begin the groundwork for the sale of the bonds sometime in August or September in order to be ready to start the bond sale in October or November.
Hanson said that he estimates interim expenses such as architectural engineering fees, construction management fees and a site survey would total approximately $400,000. Supervisor Dan Byrnes suggested that the simplest way to handle the interim financing would be to establish a fund for the project costs and transfer the $400,000 the Board pledged from the General Fund into that newly established fund. Hart and the other members agreed with that suggestion and Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer said that the public safety center construction fund had been established during the budget process for the next fiscal year.
Hanson also told the Board that he is in the process of preparing requests for proposals for asbestos removal and the demolition of the former Makee Manor building, which should be ready for the Board’s approval within the next several weeks. He said that the construction of the public safety center itself would be bid as six separate contracts (general construction; security frames and hardware; plumbing; heating and air conditioning; electric; and fire suppression) to give more local contractors an opportunity to bid on portions of the project. Hanson said that when the construction will begin will depend partly on the weather but that the project should be underway by next spring.