Johnson County Supervisors consider scaling back improvements to buildings

Hunter
02/08/23

The cost of the planned renovations to the Johnson County administration and health and human services buildings has ballooned, mostly due to increased construction costs.

The Daily Iowan reports that the project was originally slated to cost around $15 million but will now cost roughly $27.9 million. The renovations started in 2019 after the county hired OPN Architects to design the  project’s plans.

Ray Forsythe, Johnson County special projects manager, said a variety of factors have increased project costs everywhere.

Supervisor Rod Sullivan said once renovations started, supervisors reached out to employees in the building, who provided a long list of additional improvements that significantly increased the budget.

The county is using American Rescue Plan Act money as well as budgeting several million dollars from its general fund for the next few fiscal years.

The renovations are focusing primarily on safety and security projects. They include installing sprinkler and fire suppression systems in the administration building, an updated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system to help filter out diseases like COVID-19, and installing permanent glass barriers to protect county employees and the public, also to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

The DI reports that the renovations will be tackled in phases to ensure funding availability for the next one.