Justice center project costs forces new bid process

Reno and Washoe County officials are looking to the construction industry to help them end an argument and determine the true cost of a new joint justice center.

The Reno City Council and Washoe County Commission met last week and agreed to again call for bids on the Mills B.

Lane Justice Center.

"It's time we work together and end this friction," said County Commissioner Bonnie Weber.

That may not happen, though, even with multiple bids from builders, because the county and city still disagree on how much they are willing to spend on the project.

The center, designed to house the Reno municipal court and the Washoe County district attorney's office, is being funded and built through an interlocal agreement between the county and city.

According to the agreement, Reno is responsible for managing the building's design and the county oversees the project's construction.

The costs are split; the county pays 60 percent while the city pays 40 percent.

The project has been the focus of controversy and subsequent delays as cost estimates for the building - from the architect, construction consultant, area builders and city and county staffs - have varied widely.

The original call for bids went out last year with a project budget of $26.5 million based on an estimate provided by Tate Snyder Kimsey, the building architect.

Only one builder responded by the late December deadline and another submitted a bid a few days later.

Both bids were returned unopened, but the bidders requested that the project budget be reevaluated since they believed it wasn't sufficient.

The county hired a consultant who reviewed the project and upped the estimate to $34 million.

The architect also revised its estimate to $29.8 million.

Why the change? "There are so many market costs," said architect J.Windom Kimsey.

"There was a spike in costs and that's why we revised our estimate." He cited the price of materials, including steel, which fluctuate.

And the discrepancy between the architect's and consultant's estimates? "Their estimate is based on comparables and they're not comparing apples to apples," said Kimsey.

He said the project also needs to receive more construction bids - from five to seven builders - before it will be competitive.

B.J.

Sullivan, with Clark & Sullivan, the bidder that met the original December deadline, said the original estimate was faulty.

"The architect's estimate was absolutely goofy," he said.

"He didn't even have the garage included." Sullivan said his company's unopened bid was for about $32 million.

The city may try to eliminate the underground garage in order to reduce the cost of the project.

The garage was designed to provide security for judges and other court staff, but it is costing $70,000 per parking space - considerably higher than the average $9,000 per space cost of most projects, city staff said.

The city hopes to reduce the scope of the project enough to keep it within a $31.5 million budget.

The county is willing to fund its portion at $34 million, based on the estimate provided by the consultant.

They're advertising the bid immediately, at $29.8 million.

Officials were advised by counsel, however, that they can negotiate with a contractor after a bid is accepted, but they are obligated to pay the bid price if they accept the bid.

That may mean that if the bids still come in higher than Reno is willing to pay, then officials will have to return to the architects to cut costs and redesign portions of it, then go out for another bid.

The architects said redesign would take two to three months.

"If the bids come back higher ...

Reno City Council has the choice to augment their budget or reject the bids," said Katy Singlaub,Washoe County manager.

Commissioner David Humke was the only official to not support the measure.

"We already have information on the two bids, and they were $32.6 million and $34 million," he said.

"That's real, that's the contractor community.We walk a tightrope when trying to deal fairly with them."