Jail project heads back to architect’s drawing board
After construction bids for the McLeod County Jail expansion project were opened last week, it was learned they were more than $2 million over estimates.
A workshop was conducted after the board of commissioners’s meeting Tuesday, April 7, that included the commissioners, attorney and officials from the law enforcement community.
Project manager John McNamara of Wold Architects said he will recommend to the County Board at its next regular meeting that it reject all bids. He will work with the building committee, county administration and sheriff’s department to change how the project will be presented and bring it back for re-bidding.
McNamarra cited several reasons for why construction costs were estimated at $6.5 million, but came in at $8.9 million, saying the county only received three bids because there are so many projects going on in the state. Materials and labor are in short supply and prices are up.
For more, see the April 8 print edition of The Chronicle.