photo by: Contributed

An architectural rendering of the staff entrance to the Public Safety Building.

Douglas County commissioners approved a nearly $82 million budget on Wednesday for the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center and Public Safety Building project — an amount that will also cover some extra features like solar panels and a new parking lot.

The commission unanimously approved the total figure of $81,982,074 for the renovations and expansion of the JLEC and the construction of the new Public Safety Building. The JLEC portion of the project is expected to cost $52,509,198, and the Public Safety Building is expected to cost $18,990,584; the rest of the budget includes furniture, fixtures and equipment costs and money for unexpected expenses.

“This is a big number, but it has been something that the staff and commission over time have been working toward, and I think it represents a reasonable cost for what we’re doing,” Commissioner Patrick Kelly said.

As the Journal-World has reported, the JLEC building, which houses the District Court, District Attorney’s Office, emergency communications and management offices, Sheriff’s Office, IT department, and building maintenance staff, will be expanded on its south side. This expansion will create additional space for more courtrooms, judges’ chambers, conference rooms, and other essential facilities. The Public Safety Building will be located next to the Douglas County Jail and will serve as the central hub for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the 911 dispatch center and the county’s emergency management operations.

The budget will cover several extra features, or “alternates,” that the commissioners approved on Wednesday. For the JLEC, the alternates included adding a parking lot between the JLEC and the courthouse, which will total around $342,000; adding fixtures in the lobby restrooms for around $209,000; and adding solar panels on the roof for about $233,000. At the Public Safety Building, they included adding more square footage to the building’s footprint for about $3.9 million and adding solar panels at the site for around $359,000.

photo by: Contributed

A rendering of the outside of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center with the renovations and addition.

photo by: Contributed

An architectural rendering of the public entrance to the Public Safety Building.

Commissioner Shannon Reid said she appreciated all of the recommendations from staff about the alternates and thought it was inclusive of everything that mattered to her.

“This (has) been a multi-year process, but we’ve certainly had a lot of in-depth conversations this year,” Reid said. ” … I feel really confident with where we’ve landed both fiscally and that we are really working hard to meet the needs of multiple county departments, offices and agencies that are critical functions for the county.”

Commissioner Karen Willey added that a lot of options were on the table in September 2023, and it’s taken a lot of work to get to this point.

“I wasn’t sure I would be able to stomach (the cost) until I saw the numbers, but I am also comfortable with where we’ve ended, and I appreciate the tremendous amount of work that everyone has put in to get us to this point,” Willey said.

photo by: Screenshot

The schedule of alternates was presented at the Douglas County commissioners’ business meeting on Wednesday, December 11, 2024. The items in black were approved at the meeting, while the blue items can be considered in the future.

The construction of the JLEC expansion is expected to begin in January 2025, and the renovations to the existing building are expected to begin in summer 2026 and be completed in summer 2027. The first phase of construction on the Public Safety Building will begin in spring 2025 and is expected to conclude in spring 2026.

In other business, commissioners:

• Authorized the county administrator to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, with the city of Lawrence about the county’s one-time funding commitment for an emergency shelter project.

In the 2025 budget deliberations earlier this year, county commissioners approved a one-time funding request of $750,000 from the city of Lawrence for the shelter project, which will provide up to 65 low-barrier emergency shelter spaces for women and families by 2027. The shelter will specifically target families with children under 18 and single-parent, female-headed households. The Lawrence City Commission will consider the MOU as part of its Dec. 17 business agenda.

• Approved revisions to the Douglas County code related to animal control. A significant change removed the mention of an administrative hearing office, and the county stated in a memo, “after thorough review with legal counsel, it has been determined that this is not permitted under Kansas State law.” Additionally, the updated code clarifies the role of the district court in determining penalties for violations, which may include issuing arrest warrants for individuals who fail to appear.

A new process for enforcing the county’s animal code was scheduled for commissioners to consider in February, but that didn’t end up happening. As the Journal-World reported, the county had considered the idea of implementing an administrative hearing process for animal code violations to either enforce citations or provide other avenues to resolve complaints.

• Approved revisions to the part of the county code related to parks, fairgrounds and other county facilities. The revisions are intended to reflect the current fairgrounds policies and practices, which are established and maintained by the county commissioners, according to a memo in the agenda.

• Authorized the county administrator to sign a revised county partner funding agreement with the Douglas County Extension Council, which was initiated after the 2025 budget deliberations. As the Journal-World reported, the commissioners held a work session in August with the extension to review the organization’s services and how they’re funded. While the commissioners had some questions about funding requests the extension council made for the county’s 2025 budget, there were also questions about the commission’s responsibility in the organization’s budget process. The revisions aim to address those questions from commissioners.

• Awarded a contract for multifunction devices – which could include printers, copiers, scanners and fax machines – maintenance and related services to SumnerOne Inc. for a 60-month lease on 74 devices, 71 software licenses with three years of support and 71 card readers at $46,516.32 per year, plus costs per copy. The total amount for the 60-month lease totals $232,581.60 plus costs per copy.

• Approved an amendment to the lease agreement for the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, LDCHA, regarding the property for The Cottages, a 10-unit permanent supportive housing project on the behavioral health housing campus. This amendment will clarify whether the LDCHA or the county is responsible for covering damages resulting from a fire or other casualty. Following a fire at one of the units in February, LDCHA and county staff sought clarification on which party would be responsible for the deductible. LDCHA believed that it, not the county, should be held accountable, as it receives rent for the cottages. Additionally, LDCHA requested the ability to cover any difference in replacement or repair costs beyond insurance proceeds if Douglas County deems replacement or repair commercially unreasonable, according to a memo in the agenda.