by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

A one-year delay in construction of the planned major addition to the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center is quite likely. A decision is not yet official, pending a joint meeting of county commissioners and county council on Wednesday, May 9, The Reporter has learned.

The reasons for postponing the 100,000 square foot expansion include the fact that bids are slightly higher than a proposed budget permits, plus a planned contingency fund is proposed at only two percent of construction costs which may not be sufficient and, most of all, the bid prices do not include finishing any part of the interior of the new addition.

For these reasons, County Commissioner Steve Dillinger said it is his personal opinion that a delay is reasonable. Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt did not disagree, and said re-bidding in November or December may be financially advantageous. Bidding again at that time will allow the county to bond up to $15 million toward the project without a countywide referendum, thanks to a new state law that increased public bonding limits.

Construction could then begin in early 2019, hopefully with at least the main floor interior complete for use.

In the coming months work could be done on moving and extending certain utilities to get that process out of the way of construction. Commissioners made it clear that it is still their intention to do the expansion project to provide space for growing needs of the courts and other offices.

The joint meeting of commissioners and council will be held the day after the primary election when the coming year’s make-up of both bodies will likely be known. Four council members and one commissioner are up for election this year.

The Government and Judicial Center is 26 years old, and at the time of construction officials said expansion might well be needed in about 20 years. The cost of the new addition is estimated at around $23 million and can be completed without a property tax increase because existing bonds will have matured by next year, and new ones may be sold without any increase in the debt retirement levy, officials say.

The expansion will increase the size of the building by about 50 percent with the new construction to the west of the present structure and will include a new, more attractive west front facing White River.