Construction cost increases hit new jail project
October 4, 2021 \u2014 Projected construction costs for a new jail building have gone up more than 14% in the last three years, an unprecedented increase driven by steel tariffs, supply chain delays and shortages of skilled labor. In spite of several efforts to reduce costs, the architect on the project told the Board of Supervisors last week that there is a budget shortfall of $3.6 million. \nIn 2017, the county received $25 million from the state to build a new jail designed to meet the mental health needs of inmates. Originally, the county planned to contribute a little over a million dollars, but that amount climbed to about $2.8 million as delays piled up and costs increased. The project is currently expected to cost $31.1 million.\nDeputy CEO Steve Dunnicliff reported that disasters ranging from global to bureaucratic are playing out in the construction project that\u2019s still about a year from breaking ground, \u201cstarting with rebuilding thousands of houses lost to wildfires, then tariffs on construction material and supply chain impacts due to the ongoing global pandemic,\u201d he noted. \u201cAdditionally, the state\u2019s project approval was extended due to a change in their process.\u201d\nEric Fadness, an architect with Nacht and Lewis, which is designing the jail, said the 14.5% increase in projected construction costs since June of 2019 is based on the California Construction Cost increase, which historically has increased each year at an average of 3.5% \u201cSo an increase of 14.5% \u201cis unprecedented,\u201d he concluded. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of significant of the time we\u2019re in.\u201d Soft costs, like fees, testing, and equipment, have increased from $5.8 million in June of 2019 to about $6.4 million.\nSupervisor Ted Williams implied that he expects costs to keep rising. \u201cWould you be as surprised as I would be if we could pull it off for thirty-one?\u201d he asked Fadness, who concurred that, \u201cI guess I would be at this point.\u201d He recommended that the board set aside $4 million to meet cost increases that could keep accumulating in the future.\nCEO Carmel Angelo pointed out that the county could tap the reserve account, \u201cand certainly any fund balance that we may have would be applicable, as well...I do not think that there is any additional grant money...my guess is that this would be all county money,\u201d she reported.\nSupervisor Dan Gjerde noted that lumber costs have fluctuated, and wondered if that might indicate that overall construction costs could go down in the next year. He didn\u2019t seem to find the shortfall insurmountable, noting that in previous years the county has had significant close-out surplus funds. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s going to be the case this year,\u201d he acknowledged, \u201cwith the budget being closed out last year, but if that\u2019s the case, maybe another million dollars here, another two million there, and next thing you know, you have four million dollars.\u201d\nThe current timeline for the project is to award a construction contract by August of next year, followed by a notice to proceed by the end of September. Fadness said he expects construction to be finished by spring of 2024 and for inmates to move in by early summer.\nWilliams made a motion to accept the presentation, adding that \u201cinherently in that is to ask staff to find four million dollars from somewhere.\u201d\n\nIn another unanimous vote, the board approved a request by Dr. Jenine Miller, the head of behavioral health, to use $240 thousand dollars per year for the next four years from the Measure B fund for a crisis respite center in Fort Bragg. Miller said the facility would likely be on the campus of the coast hospital and have four to six beds, managed by Redwood Community Services. The proposal received support from the Fort Bragg City Council, the chief of police, and the Measure B committee, which passed the request along to the board.\nMiller also reported that construction on the crisis residential treatment center in Ukiah is expected to be complete by November. She added that a feasibility study on whether a psychiatric health facility should be located at a county-owned building on Whitmore Lane in Ukiah or be built from scratch should come before the board in January.