Douglas County Commissioners to Consider Approving Additional Funding for Treasurer's Satellite Office Project

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Douglas County treasurer’s satellite office is expected to move to the site at 2601 W. Sixth St. in west Lawrence once renovations are complete.

Douglas County commissioners are considering providing additional funding for the treasurer’s office’s new satellite site as unforeseen utility work is expected to exceed the initial budget.

On Wednesday, the county commission will consider approving an additional $75,000 in funding for the satellite site project, which would bring the total project budget to $1,678,275.

As the Journal-World reported, the treasurer’s south Lawrence satellite office is expected to move to a larger location west of Lawrence, at 2601 W. Sixth St., later this year. The new office is twice the size of the 2,500-square-foot space the satellite office has been in for the past eight years.

According to a memo on the agenda, once construction began, it was found that existing utilities did not meet current standards and were inadequate for the project, requiring additional work and funding beyond the original design and budget. The memo said the additional work included relocating the existing electrical service line that supports the building, installing a water line dedicated to firefighting, relocating a natural gas line and extending a fiber optic line to the building to support connection to county infrastructure.

In addition, once demolition work began, it was discovered that some of the building’s exterior studs and cladding had deteriorated due to moisture infiltration. These items needed to be repaired and rehabilitated before the interior renovation work, as described in the project documents, could begin.

According to the memo, the completion date of the construction project is scheduled for mid-October.

The memo states that staff estimates the project is nearly $50,000 over the current approved budget. Staff is requesting an additional $75,000 in funding to ensure the project can be completed to the quality and scope originally planned.

Funding for the purchase and renovation of the property comes from two sources: $650,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds provided to the Treasurer’s Office and the County’s Emergency Capital Improvement Fund. Additional funds needed to support the project budget are also expected to come from the Emergency Capital Improvement Fund.

In other matters, the county commissioners:

• Consider entering into an agreement in the amount of $791,367 for above-grade stone masonry restoration work to be performed on the exterior of the historic Douglas County Courthouse.

The memorandum on the agenda stated that the project was put out to bid through the county’s online bidding system, with bids collected Aug. 8. Five bids were received, ranging from $791,367 to $1,269,854. All bids submitted were below the architect’s estimate of $3,021,185.

The Journal-World asked county spokeswoman Karrey Britt by email why the bids were lower than the estimate, but she did not provide an explanation.

This phase of the restoration project will involve cleaning all facades of the courthouse and restoring and repointing parts of the west facade, as well as all of the south, east and north facades. These facades were not addressed during the previous restoration work in 2010, according to the note on the agenda.

• Consider approving a special event permit for a Halloween-themed outdoor festival – Garrett’s Haunted Farm – to be held from Thursday, Sept. 26, to Thursday, Nov. 3, on property located at 1387 East 1650 Road. The event would include children’s activities during the day and a “zombie paintball hunt” in the evening.

The county commission business meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Public Works Training Room at 3755 E. 25th St. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.