Linn supervisors set budget for Oxley center, jail projects

Linn County supervisors acted this morning to keep one major flood-recovery project working and set the groundwork to launch another.

Supervisors approved the $11 million bid this morning from Miron Construction of Cedar Rapids and approved a $14.8 million total budget for the Jean Oxley Public Services Center, which will replace the former Administrative Office Building, 930 First St. SW, with a new complex built in and around its gutted shell.

The total budget includes security, fire alarm, and climate controls not included in the general contract. The project's funding includes $3.7 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and $8.9 million from the state's I-JOBS program.

Supervisors set a $7.8 million ceiling for improvements at the county jail on Mays Island, not including costs for parking and elevator improvements. They set a Sept. 20 date to open bids on the project. The county expects $4.7 million from FEMA for the work, which includes the second phase of a flood-mitigation project to elevate utilities and other systems out of the reach of future floods.

The county has also applied for assistance from I-JOBS for the jail project. I-JOBS' board will announce the program's latest round of grants Sept. 2.

Both jobs will be conducted under a project labor agreement requiring  any non-union workers on the project to be matched by at least one union member. The agreement for the Oxley center was adopted in June, and supervisors voted today for an identical agreement on the jail project.

“I don't know why you wouldn't go with one,” said 4th District Supervisor Brent Oleson. “Most of the workers that work with these contractors live right here.”