COEUR D’ALENE, IDAHO – On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, the Kootenai Board of County Commissioners finally received a stunning $42-$45 million estimated project cost range for the Justice Center Expansion Project (JCEP).
Over two months ago, Commissioner Bruce Mattare insisted the county hire a qualified expert to manage the JCEP due to frustrations over a lack of transparency.
The board engaged the services of Turner and Townsend Heery LLC, with David Mendez taking on the management of the JCEP. The position Mendez holds is officially known as the Owner’s Representative on the project. He replaces Commissioner Leslie Duncan who previously acted as the project manager under a board liaison appointment. In her capacity as the board liaison, Duncan handled all JCEP information between the board, the construction company, subcontractors, and county departments.
Mendez based the $42-$45 million estimated cost range on the project design details, current construction cost estimates, and a 30 percent soft costs allowance, which is in line with industry standards. Soft costs are everything it takes to complete and furnish the building that are not direct construction costs. The $45 million price tag is staggering when you compare it to Lombard Conrad Architects’ original cost projection of $22 million in February 2022. The $22 million figure was replaced with construction budget estimates by Bouten Construction to “north of $30 million” in August 2022. By October 2023, Bouten’s updated construction figures placed the project at over $38 million.
Since the beginning of October, the JCEP cost estimates have increased $4-$7 million, and many fear the project will end up costing well over $50 million. On October 3, 2023, Commissioner Bill Brooks said he believes the JCEP will eventually reach $65 million. The project broke ground in September 2023, with an expected completion date in May 2025.
There are three additional capital improvement projects the county has undertaken, with a combined cost estimation of $12 million. There is $1 million HVAC system improvement to the county administrative building in Coeur d’Alene, and there are two projects involving the sheriff’s office, the Kootenai North Project and the Jail Pod Project.
The Kootenai North Project refers to the $950,000 remodel being completed on the old Kootenai Electric building on Dakota Avenue in Hayden, which the county purchased for almost $5 million in December 2020. After reviewing options from multiple county offices, the commissioners decided to house the sheriff’s patrol division in the Kootenai North location when renovations are completed. If the project remains on schedule, the patrol division will relocate in the summer of 2024.
The Jail Pod Project is an estimated $9 million expansion to increase occupancy, which will alleviate the overcrowding at the county jail. The jail facility is designed for maximum occupancy of 361 inmates, but the population often approaches 500 inmates. The Jail Pod Project has been discussed at length for years with a bid proposal coming in at $7.5 million; however, the project has not yet broken ground. Rapid population growth will continue to force expensive jail expansions as crime increases in direct proportion to population. According to Sheriff Bob Norris, the last construction project to increase capacity at the county jail cost around $80,000 per bed.
It remains to be seen if Mendez will also manage the Jail Pod Project, as each project must have a separate action taken by the commissioners to fill the Owner’s Representative position. Mattare prefers the county hire a qualified expert to manage its construction projects before they break ground. This policy would help mitigate financial risk to the county taxpayers and provide more transparency to the processes involved in large capital improvement projects.
