photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

Douglas County leaders this week could approve a nearly $1.5 million budget for a project that addresses waterproofing issues with the Douglas County Courthouse’s foundation.

The project is on the agenda for Wednesday’s Douglas County Commission meeting, and it’s intended to fix what’s described as “significant water infiltration issues” in the courthouse basement. The commission is set to receive a presentation about the scope of that work during a work session, then make a decision about the project budget during its regular agenda.

The amount recommended for the project by county staff is $1,491,139. However, that amount is about $300,000 more than a breakdown of probable costs for the waterproofing and other associated work prepared by Lawrence-based architectural design firm Hernly Associates Inc. The county’s budget breakdown seems to attribute the difference in costs to budgeted spending for furniture, fixtures and equipment, and professional services like building permits and architectural fees.

If the commission gives the project the go-ahead, it’ll take eight months before any construction work begins; design development, putting together construction documents and bidding will all take place first. Construction itself is estimated to take eight months, bringing the total project time from start to finish to an estimated 16 months.

At a meeting in early April, the commission approved a motion that authorizes paying the firm for the cost of construction design work, so any action taken this week would just authorize Hernly Associates to proceed with design and construction documentation, along with approving the overall project budget.

At that April meeting, county staff noted that the county will receive a $90,000 Heritage Trust Fund grant to apply toward the project and that other portions of the work will be eligible for state-level tax credit funding. Neither of these funding mechanisms is mentioned in detail in the agenda for this week’s meeting, so it’s unclear exactly how else the county may plan on subsidizing the cost of the project.

In the work session presentation, the commission will also hear more about some masonry restoration work, which Hernly Associates is estimating will cost more than $3.25 million. County staff notes that estimated cost will be included for the commission’s consideration in the 2023 Capital Improvement Projects budget. The commission is slated to review that budget in the next month or so, separate from the 2023 operating budget it adopted last week.

In other business, the commission will:

• Consider authorizing County Administrator Sarah Plinsky to enter into a contract with a participating cooperative contractor for the construction of a proposed remodel of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, and approving a total proposed project budget of $527,051.

The county was awarded an additional judge earlier this year, which leaves the existing facilities at the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center one courtroom short. The remodel would repurpose 2,287 square feet of space previously occupied by the Lawrence Police Department before its departure to new facilities, turning it into a new hearing room, court reporter office, administrative assistant office space and judge’s chambers.

Though not confirmed, the county estimates the new judge could report for duty as early as mid-October, so staff is working to streamline the design and construction process so the remodeled spaces will be available as soon as possible. The project would be funded through the use of county Capital Improvement Project contingency funds.

• Consider a one-year time extension for a previously approved conditional use permit for agricultural retail sales at Pine Landscape Center, located at 1783 East 1500 Road in unincorporated Douglas County.

• During an executive session, consult with the Douglas County counselor regarding “matters that would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship.” It’s unclear based on the meeting agenda whether the commission will take any action after returning from executive session, nor whether this is related to an executive session taken during the commission’s Aug. 16 meeting.

Wednesday’s work session will begin at 4 p.m., followed by the business meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. The meeting will also be available by Zoom. For meeting information, visit the county’s website: dgcoks.org/commissionmeetings.