By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
Ellis County has run into more issues with construction of Courthouse/Law Enforcement Center and the Emergency Services Building that could force further delay.
Contractors working in the Law Enforcement Center discovered the water lines that feed the HVAC center needs to be replaced.
County Administrator Greg Sund said there are three options to fix the system with early estimates costing between $170,000 and $386,000. The cheapest option would be to just replace the pipe but the actual units will also need to be replaced at some point, according to the architect, which would be more difficult when the project is complete.
“We’d have to go back in as units break and replace them, and they have water in them,” Sund said.
Commissioner Barbra Wasinger said she has done construction projects in the past and it is much easier to get the work done when “everything is pulled apart.”
Sund also said there could be a delay of up to 10 weeks to get the parts which would bring construction on the first floor of the LEC to a halt.
County Counselor Bill Jeter said that because this was not part of the original project, and because of the cost the county needs to send it out for bid.
The commission instructed Treanor Architects to seek bids for construction, and the commission will consider the bids at a later date.
The money to cover the extra expense will come from the sales tax fund. Sund said sales tax collection was up 4-percent this year
The commission also approved a 60-day extension for construction at the EMS building to be completed on or before Sept. 15.
Brad Teeter with Spangenberg Phillips Tice Architecture said the rain this winter and spring, along with issues with construction crews, have the project behind.
Gary Weatherby with Commercial Builders said they had to threaten the sub-contractor putting up the metal building with legal action because they are so far behind. He said they now have two crews working on the building.
But he also said the EMS building is not the same type of building that others are putting up around town and that is part of the reason it is taking longer to construct the building.
The commission also approved, after much debate, the installation of proximity and push-button door locks at the Emergency Services Building.
In an attempt to save money on the project, some locks were cut but Rural Fire Director Darin Myers and EMS Director Kerry McCue they need to have the locks in place to protect equipment and sensitive information.
Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Ring offered to pay the approximately $8,000 from his equipment fund.
The commission agreed to take $4,000 from the sales tax fund and $4,000 from the Emergency Management equipment fund to pay for the locks.