Series of meetings helps Supervisors decide final details for May 5 bond vote on jail/safety center

by Bob Beach

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors has spent the past week ironing out the details of a bond referendum to fund the construction of a new jail and public safety center throughout a series of meetings. Wednesday, March 11 the Board met with John Hanson of Midwest Construction Consultants, who has assisted the Public Safety Center Committee in making recommendations to the Board about the project. Board of Supervisors Chairman Larry Schellhammer said that the Board had a lot of questions about Hanson's estimates of the project cost, specifically, how those estimates were calculated.
Hanson said that the cost of the project had initially been estimated at $5.2 million but that the Public Safety Center Committee had wanted to keep the cost under five million dollars, so the building was designed to meet that budget. He told the Board that over the past eight months since that initial estimate, construction costs had risen by 20 percent.
Hanson then reviewed the estimates calculated for construction at the Makee Manor site northeast of Waukon and the Sherman property on the southwest edge of Waukon. He said that the estimated cost of the building itself, as it is currently designed, is $5.34 million. The Board questioned Hanson about the difference in site preparation and other costs for the two proposed sites, reviewing both estimates line-by-line until all three members of the Board were satisfied that the bottom-line estimated cost of constructing the facility at Makee Manor is approximately $5.5 million, including the cost of demolition of existing structure, while the estimated cost of building the facility at the Sherman property is approximately $5.8 million.
Hanson told the Board that he estimated the cost of asbestos removal at Makee Manor to be around $45,000 and that he estimated that the total cost of bringing the building down would be less than $150,000, some of which may be reimbursed through a derelict building grant. He also estimated that the building could be brought down in about three weeks after the bidding process has been completed.
After extensive discussions, the Board concluded that Allamakee County voters should be asked to approve the sale of up to $5.1 million in bonds and that the Board should commit $400,000 from the County's General Fund to pay for the demolition of Makee Manor and the construction of a new jail and public safety center at the Makee Manor site.

The following day, Thursday, March 12, the Board attended a meeting of the Public Safety Center Committee. Supervisor Dan Byrnes told the Committee that he is now "comfortable with the numbers" Hanson had provided and that while there are "pluses and minuses" to both sites, he is now convinced that demolishing the Makee Manor building and constructing the new public safety center there is the County's best option.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Larry Schellhammer told the Committee that he believes voters will understand and accept the increase in the bond amount requested since the demolition of Makee Manor was not included in the $4.9 million figure put before them last November. He said that the $400,000 the Board has allocated from the General Fund over the next several years should demonstrate the Board's support and commitment toward the project, adding that the $5.5 million project is "a more honest figure".
"We held John's [Hanson] feet to the fire," Supervisor Dennis Koenig told the Committee, "but I have a lot more faith in him now. I feel a whole lot better about the project." Byrnes added that with interests rates at historic lows, the time to move forward on the project is now.

During its regular meeting Monday, March 16, the Board formalized its decision by passing a resolution to schedule a special election for May 5 for the $5.1 million bond referendum. The question on the May 5 ballot will be: "Shall the County of Allamakee, State of Iowa, enter into a loan agreement and issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed the amount of $5,100,000 for the purpose of demolishing an existing structure, preparing a site and constructing, furnishing and equipping a Public Safety Center that will provide space for the Sheriff's Department, Jail, Dispatch Center, Emergency Management Department and E911 Department?"
In other business Monday, the Board set March 30 at 9:15 a.m. as the date and time for a public hearing regarding the extension of the lease agreement between the County and the Vet's Club, Inc. and April 6 at 10 a.m. as the date and time for a public hearing on the proposed closure of a section of old County Road #529 in the Yellow River State Forest. The Board also approved County Engineer Brian Ridenour's request to set weight limit embargoes on the majority of asphalt County roads. Ridenour said that signs would be posted on the embargoed roads this week.