Architects: Law enforcement center, courthouse work starting behind, but will catch up

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The planning and design process for a new Floyd County law enforcement center has started about a month behind schedule, but the architects think that time can be made up in order to begin construction next spring as originally planned.

Two architects from Prochaska & Associates presented an update Tuesday morning to the Floyd County Board of Supervisors for the up-to-$13.5 million law enforcement center, jail and courthouse update project county voters approved in May.

Curt Field and Jim Classe, who have been working with the county on this version of the project for more than a year, planned to meet Tuesday and Wednesday with various departments in the courthouse to talk about ideas that might be included in the courthouse updates.

They were at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday morning to talk about the schedule and what happens next.

Field, a project manager as well as an architect with Prochaska, told the county board the goal now is to come up with a detailed design of the floor plans — “to tweak the plans you have seen so far, to pin everything down so you have a plan you’re happy with.”

Field said Classe would begin design work on what the exterior of the law enforcement center and the atrium that will join it to the courthouse might look like.

He said the schedule now is to meet the original plan to advertise for bids on the construction project in April 2019.

Field said it was also time to begin thinking about hiring a construction manager.

That person, usually someone with a general contractor background, would serve as a neutral advisor to the county and manage the various stages of the construction project, Field said.

A site survey, soil borings and geotechnical report also need to begin soon, he said, because that information will be needed as part of the schematic design process.

The law enforcement center will extend past Jackson street and require the county to purchase two residences on the west side of Jackson Street. The supervisors planned to go into closed session Tuesday afternoon to discuss with the assistant county attorney negotiations on the purchase of those properties.

Supervisor Linda Tjaden wondered what kind of access was needed for the site survey, since the county does not yet own those properties.

Field said the surveyor would not need to go into the homes, but the survey might seem intrusive to someone who didn’t want the surveyor on his or her property.

The supervisors also discussed with the architects possible locations for a new supervisors board room.

The board currently meets in a small room on the second floor of the courthouse that has space for fewer than a dozen people in addition to the supervisors.

The supervisors have said they would like space for many more members of the public to attend, as well as audio and video capabilities for meetings.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board:

• Approved spending up to $25,700 to reimburse the Charles City Area Development Corp. for a county-wide housing needs assessment. Supervisor Linda Tjaden said the firm selected by the development group would provide a study that includes demographics, employment trends, for-sale housing, a residency analysis and senior housing analysis.

“It sounds exactly like what we’ve been hearing we’re needing from a lot of people,” Tjaden said.

• Approved a new parking policy for the courthouse, opening up more of the lots for public parking on a first-come basis, other than reserved spots for the Sheriff’s Office. Supervisor Doug Kamm said the parking situation will be “a moving target” as construction begins on the law enforcement center and displaces existing lot and street parking.