Bids for some Justice Building furniture and the parking lot exterior lighting were opened at the Kosciusko County Commissioners meeting Tuesday.
For the lighting, base bids were $169,000 from Michiana Contracting and $144,553 from D & D Electric. The bids also included some alternates that could add to or subtract from the total bid.
For the courts furniture, the bids were $291,060.76 from KDA Furniture & Interiors; $209,917 from Business Furnishings; and $158,804 from Office Interiors.
All bids were taken under advisement and a decision on them will be made by the commissioners at their 9 a.m. May 6 meeting.
County Administrator Marsha McSherry presented a proposal from Design Collaborative for a multi-building facility assessment.
“This would include interiors, windows, those type of things to help with budgeting purposes in the future,” she said.
The lump sum base fee is $60,500. Extended services to provide high-imagery infrared moisture scans would be for $6,400.
Chris Stine, partner and architect with Design Collaborative, was on hand at the meeting.
County Commissioner Brad Jackson said to Stine, “Chris, everybody always thinks we make up our minds ahead of time. Honestly, I’m on the fence on this, so can you convince the rest of us, or me, why this is worth the cost.”
Stine said, “So what we’re doing, in the $60,000 is also $10,000 worth of allowances; $4,500 of that is for roof cores if necessary, and then $6,500 of that is for booms and lift rentals and those type of things. So there’s the fee itself for the time and labor is approximately $50,000. Of the $50,000, there is a $7,000 piece involved in that, which is a photo mapping of the outside of the courthouse here with a drone service so that we’re not up on ladders and booms and lifts, which will be a model that you’ll have for ongoing uses, also.”
He said those are the three big chunks of the fee.
“The remainder of it is us going building by building. There are approximately eight buildings that are being assessed, and that’s exterior, building envelope. It’s site, it’s interiors, electrical, communications, low voltage, plumbing, mechanical, security and vertical egress. So those are the categories that will be part of, essentially, a matrix and a form you’ll have - a PDF, also electronic form - that you can work with in the future,” Stine said.
He said that will show the county what they found, as well as some background data that will come from what they find as well as any existing drawings and talking to people.
“So it’ll be as deep as a dive as we can without being destructive,” Stine stated.
There will be about 11 more buildings that will be on the assessment as well, but he said they’re not doing work on those, just putting information on there that exists today. As an example, he mentioned some of the newer buildings out at the Kosciusko County Highway Department.
The report will have ballpark costs of anything that Design Collaborative finds in the building assessments that need attention.
After some deeper discussion on how the assessments will be done and what all will be included, Jackson made a motion to approve up to the $66,900 total, but if some of the assessment is not needed, it won’t be done. Commissioner Cary Groninger seconded the motion and it passed 3-0.
Stine mentioned that if Design Collaborative goes over the amount approved, “that’s on us.”
In other business, the commissioners:
• Approved Kosciusko Emergency Management Agency Director Kip Shuter’s request to apply for a K21 Health Foundation grant for $101,000 for a Nonin CO Pilot Oximeter System.
The grant, if approved, would purchase 18 of those units, which are almost $5,600 apiece.
“Basically, it measures the carbon monoxide in someone’s blood, and we’d be placing that in every primary fire station responding within Kosciusko County,” he said. “The device itself is kind of like an oxygen oximeter that you get in the doctor’s office or the hospital. It goes on the tip of your finger that reads the various five forms of hemoglobin, so the firefighters responding can get quick treatment and start that initial medical assessment of those patients that have been exposed to carbon monoxide and carbon monoxide poisoning.”
No funds will flow through the county. He said K21 will pay the invoices directly.
• Approved $13,000 for the Digital Ally project put into place at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office will pay for the other $13,000.
“Originally, that came through last year. We upgraded all the cameras. Due to a shortfall, what I’m here to ask you for, there is a $26,000 expenditure for the Digital Ally. I’m here to ask you for the $13,000, which is half, and we’re going to take care of the other half out of the commissary fund,” Chief Deputy Chris McKeand explained in presenting the request.
• Approved KCSO Lt. Mike Mulligan’s request to purchase two Chevy Tahoes from Kelly Chevrolet. One will be a patrol vehicle at $49,775, and the other is an administration vehicle for an investigator at $50,045.
• Approved Systems Administrator Eric Sorensen’s request to renew the contract with Daston for Google. The total is $150,000, which can be paid annually in installments of $50,000. Daston does the county’s email, Google Drive, calendar and meets.
They also approved his request to purchase a new Synology box. It would be placed out at the Kosciusko County Highway Department to mirror the county’s data that is housed at the county courthouse. If the Synology box goes down at the courthouse, the backup would be at the highway department. The cost is $10,685.
• Announced that because of the election on Tuesday, May 7, the next meeting will be at 9 a.m. Monday, May 6.