Posted: 12/5/06
County hires project manager for CJC
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Houston County commissioners took another step toward building a criminal justice center (CJC) at its November 28 meeting.
The board voted to hire Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) to be the ownerís representative of the proposed project for a fixed fee of $2.75 million.
Cost guarantees, staying on schedule, and dealing with problems were the main benefits that commissioners cited in approving the contract.
Commissioners Kevin Kelleher and Ann Thompson worked on the contract with Minneapolis attorney Dave Hammergren.
Kelleher said the contract would gaurantee energy efficiencies that will be put into the building.
It will also give JCI the role of chasing contractors who are a problem, Kelleher said. ìYou have to be ready to do that. Quite frankly weíre not,î he said.
Commissioner Larry Graf said the contract was like an extended warranty, so the county wouldnít pay an extra million dollars down the road.
Commissioner Tom Bjerke also liked the guarantees, and thought the idea made sense since the there is no administrator for the county.
Commissioner Dave Corcoran said he had talked to people who had done projects like this with and without an ownerís representative. They paid for doing it the wrong way, Corcoran said. ìWe only get one shot at it,î he said.
Kelleher said that everyone agrees a new jail is needed. The space for the other parts of the building is still on the table, he said. ìNow we can start to move forward quickly on that.î
The unanimous vote followed a Powerpoint presentation by Arif Quraishi, director of design and construction services for JCI. The goal is to have a quality project with a tight budget, he said. The contract would avoid cost over-runs and guarantee outcomes, Quraishi said.
The $2.75 million price tag will cover ìsoft costsî of architecture, engineering, project manager, ownerís representative, and other consulting work. It will also help in the communication process, which is critical, Quraishi said.
ìYou donít have a clear channel of accountability, you donít have a clear channel of responsibility,î he said in describing the project without an ownerís representative.
The county is paying for peace of mind with the contract by having fixed soft costs, and guaranteed life cycle costs schedules, he added.
The board was asked what impact a referendum would have on the project. Kelleher said that the board had not seen a petition asking that the CJC project be put to a referendum, but that it would impact the cost and timeline of the project.
Quraishi was also asked if there was a conflict of interest with JCI being the ownersí representative if his company also bids on part of the project. Quraishi answered that the design would be done by engineers, and said the process would be fair. Thompson said the attorney looked at that point too. ìHe feels confident that thatís not a conflict,î she said.
Quraishi also reported that the IRS had approved the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) which the county applied for earlier this year. The bonds are for about $6 million, which means that interest expense on electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and technology parts of the project will be exempt.
The CREBs bonds could save the county from $120,000-$150,000 in interest payments a year over the length bond, Quraishi told The Argus on November 30. This would need to be evaluated with extra costs that come from installing energy-saving equipment, he said. The county board would need to determine what makes the most sense, Quraishi said.
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