photo by: Contributed

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

Leaders got a better idea on Wednesday of how the inside of Douglas County’s new Public Safety Building will look — including office spaces, locker rooms and lobby areas — and of how much the interior work might cost: $6.5 million to $7.5 million.

The Douglas County Commission at its weekly meeting reviewed updated design information for the second phase of the Public Safety Building project, which primarily includes the interior finishes of the 25,565-square-foot main level of the building. This area will mostly house the operations of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said that staff was still working through the total cost of this phase of the project, but that it could range from $6.5 million to $7.5 million. The range is large because there are concerns about increasing costs, especially with electricity.

Jeff Lane with Treanor Architects told commissioners that in the process of designing the building’s interior, over the last three months, his team met with the Sheriff’s Office on numerous occasions to determine how the building could best meet the needs of the department.

photo by: Screenshot

An architectural rendering of a locker room inside the Public Safety Building.

“We had discussions about finishes, we had discussions about access control, cameras, all those great things to go into this type of project, whether it be furniture, layout, those types of things,” Lane said. “So we worked really hard with the sheriff and his staff to come up with what we felt was a really good plan, not just for today, but for the future.”

Lane said one big piece of the conversation was having a large vehicle storage area and larger garage doors than what his design team previously thought. Additionally, there was discussion about a larger-than-expected generator to power the building — which will also house Douglas County Emergency Communications and Emergency Management — in case of a power outage. Plinsky said the generator would need to meet the full operational demands for when all of the departments move into the new building.

But Lane said that the conversations touched on smaller details, too, such as the monitors in the conference rooms and how the staff would be able to access news in the community.

photo by: Screenshot

An architectural rendering of a hallway inside of the Public Safety Building.

Some of the design considerations stem from the fact that three departments with different needs — the Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Communications and Emergency Management — will all be sharing the building. The latter two won’t be on the main floor, but rather will be located in the 11,500-square-foot, storm-hardened basement level.

“Because this building is occupied by three different groups, access control is really important,” Lane said, referring to other conversations he had with staff on which areas would need to be accessible to multiple departments, like common areas and lobbies, and which ones would be exclusive to certain personnel.

photo by: Screenshot

An architectural rendering of a room within the Public Safety Building.

Construction on the Public Safety Building began in spring of this year and is scheduled to be complete in spring 2026. The previously approved portions of the building include the lower level and the entire building envelope of the facility.

The County Commission did not approve the plans for the interior of the main floor on Wednesday, as the presentation was for informational purposes only. County staff expects to be able to provide a more precise cost for the improvements within a couple of weeks, and the commission could take action at that time.

photo by: Screenshot

A complete layout of the interior on the main level of the Public Safety Building.

In other business, county commissioners:

• Received an overview of Consolidated Fire District No. 1’s 2026 budget proposal, which totals $2.5 million, up from about $2.3 million in 2025. The proposed increase would be funded partially through a 1/2 mill property tax rate hike. The rural fire district serves a 228-square-mile area in Douglas County, and it is seeking the extra funding to add more staff, cover rising maintenance costs associated with aging facilities and equipment and build up its savings, as the Journal-World reported.

The County Commission did not take any action on the fire district budget proposal, and the public hearings on the county and CFD #1 budgets for 2026 are scheduled for the County Commission’s business meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 5:30 p.m.

• Authorized staff to sign a grant agreement between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the county for $149,520 for a term of 12 months, beginning April 1, 2025. This funding will go toward a permanent supportive housing program for 12 chronically homeless individuals.

Douglas County was initially approved to receive funding from HUD for the fiscal year 2024, but the county was notified by HUD that the final award amount would be $149,520, a reduction of 53%. During the 2026 budget deliberations, county commissioners approved $171,512 in one-time funding to sustain funding and services at current levels for the full one-year grant cycle.

The county plans to apply for fiscal year 2026 grant funding, though it is not currently included in the proposed federal HUD budget. Commissioners have also set aside funding to continue the program after the current grant ends on March 31, 2026. If federal funding is restored, staff will update the County Commission on the need for funds, a memo to commissioners said.

• Heard an overview of the 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan, which establishes the proposed schedule of infrastructure projects to be completed over the next five years. This CIP proposes eight bridge replacements at an estimated cost of $12.6 million.

The extension of Wakarusa Drive is also currently scheduled for 2027, and it is estimated to cost $10.3 million. This project would extend Wakarusa Drive south across the Wakarusa River to connect to East 1000 Road. Douglas County Public Works is coordinating the design with the Corps of Engineers and the City of Lawrence, according to the CIP, and concept plans and preliminary designs are scheduled to be presented to the public in 2026.

• Awarded a construction project in the amount of $1,159,952 to replace a bridge carrying North 1400 Road, or Route 442, over a tributary to Captain Creek east of Eudora. The existing bridge was originally built in 1931 and is a priority in the current Capital Improvement Plan because of the inadequate waterway opening and deteriorated concrete structure. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026.