Chris Stine (L), principal and registered architect with Design Collaborative, and Cary Groninger (R), Kosciusko County commissioner, talk to the county council Thursday evening about the Justice Building improvements. Photo by David Slone.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — After further review and discussion, the Kosciusko County Council on Thursday, July 13, approved to use $2.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to make improvements to the Justice Building.

At their June 8 meeting, the council had tabled the request to use the ARPA funds to cover the cost of the interior upgrades on the building that is 40 years old in some places because of the estimated costs. The county’s ARPA committee and the county commissioners approved the use of the funds for the building work.

Commissioner Cary Groninger brought Chris Stine, architect with Design Collaborative, with him to the meeting Thursday to help explain the costs and process.

Groninger thanked those council members who did take a tour of the Justice Building after the June meeting to see what was needed to be done. He referred to the floor plans provided to the council that show all of the area that the improvements will include.

“Because when you start talking about all three floors of the Justice Building, that square footage really starts to add up from the number of square footage we’re actually touching,” he said.

Stine explained how they came up with the square foot and lineal foot costs for the project. “In essence, you’re looking at flooring, which consists of resistant flooring; carpeting. You’re looking at wall coverings, which really consist of either vinyl wall fabric replacement or painting. And you’re looking at base, which is wood products in some locations and vinyl products in other locations,” he said.

In their initial meetings and walk-throughs with County Administrator Marsha McSherry, he said they talked about ceilings, doors and “all kinds of things,” but end up limited the scope of the project to walls, carpeting and flooring.

“When you look at the scope that’s being covered on the three floors, it’s in the 90,000-square-foot ballpark. And when you start to look at this and break it into square-foot costs, take that total budget and divide it by that, it’s around a $25-square-foot kind of number for a limited finish package, which, commercially, would not surprise us these days, and it’s a different number than residential,” Stine explained.

He said it’s also not gilded and cheap big-box store product, but “good quality commercial product” that the county should get good longevity out of, similar to what’s in the building now.

Stine said he knows the council had concerns about doing it all at once.

“Sometimes you’ll see schools get in the same type of situation where it’s been delayed for a while, for good reason, and now it’s time you’re looking at the entire chunk,” he said.

The next steps would be a bidding process that would have a cost consideration.

“If this was bid out to a general contractor, then you’re going to get a mark-up on top of the (subcontractors) that they would hire,” Stine said, but Design Collaborative would watch the work to make sure it happens as it’s supposed to as that’s one of the responsibilities they’re “signed up” to do.

For the Justice Building project, he said there likely would be two prime contractors – flooring and painting. The plan is to bid it before school work goes out to bid. He was told by some general contractors that if he came out this fall, that would be better as the contractors would have availability to get started on it. The work would take about four to six months.

“There are other things that we’re trying to do to make sure that we can keep the costs down,” Stine stated.

Councilwoman Joni Truex, who was the sole member to vote against approving the ARPA money for the work, said the Justice Building is in dire need of repair, but asked how does the county not get to the same place down the road.

Stine said long-term planning and budgeting. Groninger said they’re working with Design Collaborative on plans for each individual county building on what the life cycle is for things like carpeting, flooring, etc. in them so the county can build out a better budget for the buildings’ futures. Stine said McSherry was working with them on priority levels.

Truex said she doesn’t have anything against the building improvements, but was opposed to using ARPA funds for it.

“I think we have other money we could use. It’s my understanding of ARPA funds that it’s supposed to be for the community good. And, the Justice Building, the people that go in to be sentenced don’t care what it looks like, to be honest with you. The employees care, and some of the other public who go in to vote may care, but I just think there could be a better use of those ARPA funds where it would be more toward a project that would benefit the entire community and finding funds for this out of a different fund,” Truex said.

Councilwoman Sue Ann Mitchell replied, “$10 million of what we received, of the $15 million, was reimbursement that the county could use for their own. That was to be our own.”

She said the ARPA committee has been very generous with the community, “trying to get money out to the various different people who applied and trying to do those things which are going to have long-term impact, which was what our goal was. That  was the goal that we set, is that we’re not going to do the things that tomorrow aren’t going to be here.”

Mitchell then made an “editorial” comment and said, “We have this money that we’ve been blessed with, and that’s great. But we’re never going to have another $2.4 million landing in our lap like this money has. So the proof is going to be in the pudding moving forward with budgets. If we do not maintain these buildings, they’re going to fall down around us. You mentioned schools, that’s a school’s principle. They don’t take care of them because they want to build a new one and so they let them fall down. We see that in all of our communities in this county, and I just have a real problem with us not maintaining.”

She said the county used to maintain its building, doing a floor each year.

“Thankfully, we have this money that we can put into these buildings so that they don’t fall down, so that they don’t go away,” Mitchell stated.

Council President Mike Long said they have used a large portion of the ARPA funds for the betterment of the community.

“I feel that we have done our due diligence there. As far as the not-for-profits that we have helped out in the county, that wouldn’t even exist without our ARPA funds, and a lot of counties didn’t do that. We’ve been very gracious with our ARPA funds, so we have supported our community and that is basically, outside of this building, the heart and soul of the county. It’s where it operates, so we must keep our house in order,” Long said.

He said the ceilings aren’t part of the $2.4 million project, so the county has an additional need that needs addressed.

Councilman Tony Ciriello said they don’t have a choice and he doesn’t like the price tag, but he was OK with the use of the ARPA funds. Councilwoman Kathleen Groninger said if they don’t do something now, it’s going to get more expensive down the road.

Truex said it wasn’t the council’s job or responsibility to come up with a maintenance plan, but the commissioners’.

“You’re throwing a lot of pot shots at the commissioners. I can sit here and take so much. Because I really think … I think I’ll just hush up,” Cary Groninger said before repeating they were working with Design Collaborative on a plan. “… You’ve got your pound of flesh. Let’s move forward.”

The council approved a motion to use not to exceed $2.4 million in ARPA funds on the project by a vote of 6-1.