Linn courthouse, jail projects move ahead

Linn County supervisors got their first detailed look this morning at plans for about $8 million in work at the county courthouse, and approved contracts for work at the neighboring jail that will run about $6.5 million.

Scheduling the courthouse renovation around trials and other activities there will be “quite complicated” and could account for up to 5 percent of the total project cost, said Al Varney, vice president of architectural and engineering firm Ament Inc.

Plans call for most courtrooms to move to the courthouse's lower level, while court clerks and administrative offices will occupy the main entrance level get records out of the reach of future floods. The county attorney's office and a secure courtroom will be on the third floor, with a skyway connection to the jail.

The fourth floor will see relatively little work to accomodate jury deliberation rooms and mechanical and electrical improvements.

Varney's schedule calls for work to begin this winter, with completion in about two years.

“Certainly, noise will be a factor,” Varney, with the contractor scheduling drilling and other especially noisy work around court trials.

Garth Fagerbakke, the county's construction manager, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide about $4.2 million in disaster recovery funds toward the project. The county will issue bonds to cover the gap.

Supervisors also formally approved $6.5 million contracts for work at the jail that will move will move mechanical and electrical systems to an upper floor out of the reach of future floods, expand the laundry, kitchen and some storage areas, and add isolation cells.

The county expects about $3.5 million from FEMA to cover costs related to flood mitigation at the jail. Supervisors have approved up to $4.2 million in bonds to cover the gap.