News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Clay County jail project currently projected to cost some $10.3 million, about $2.7 million over its original USDA loan.
Architect Cayce Petko presented an updated project plan to commissioners at a Monday night work session. She said they are still working with USDA and crunching numbers to get that number down.
“That’s my concern is activating a competitive bid market, that’s the key, is getting people in interested in bidding this job,” Petko said. “And getting a competitive environment for that to occur, that’s when you get good pricing.”
Petko suggested one change to make a more competitive bid market is having a looser timeline. The current projected time frame of construction is set at 16 months after the October notice to proceed. Petko said if the timeline was looser, contractors might feel more comfortable bidding on the work.
Mayor Dale Reagan said one option to cover the overage would be to utilize the county’s debt service. He said they currently have about $2.7M in the fund balance, and that he would prefer to use that instead of trying to get a second loan.
“We’re seeing the market loosening up a bit, electrical is still a long lead for items,” Petko said. “(…)There are some items that we know are still long leads and we’re just designing around them at this point but we’re not seeing the huge log jams in the market and the construction industry that we were a few months ago. And I’d even venture to say that prices have gotten a little more reasonable.”
Petko’s plan included a proposed project schedule, with a July 10th bid date and an estimated timeline for construction
