Construction company selected for new Boone County public safety center

Boone County has selected a construction company to develop its new emergency management and public safety communications building.

On Tuesday, the Boone County Fiscal Court voted 3-0 to approve the selection of Pepper Construction for construction management services related to the new emergency management and public safety communications building. Pepper, which has a Cincinnati office, is based out of Chicago.

Boone County Deputy Administrator Matthew Dowling stated that Pepper Construction was chosen from among seven applicants. Dowling and a committee consisting of Kevin Vogelpohl and Matt Allen from Boone County Emergency Management, as well as Daniel Aylor and Sherry Nipper from the Boone County Public Safety Communications Center, vetted every applicant. Cincinnati-based Oswald Construction was the runner-up in the bidding process.

Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore described the selection process as “very thorough.”

Pepper Construction has completed several civic building projects in the Greater Cincinnati area, including renovations to the Great Parks of Hamilton County headquarters and the Recreation Center at Northern Kentucky University. The firm is currently constructing the new City of Covington building. 

According to Dowling, Pepper Construction will use a “construction management” approach for the project, rather than the standard “design-bid-build” method. With the design-bid-build process, a project is designed first, then bids are solicited, with the lowest qualified bidder usually awarded the contract. This approach is straightforward, but it restricts the contractor’s input during the design phase, which can lead to delays and cost overruns.

Conversely, the construction management enables the contractor to work with designers, provide cost estimates, and identify potential issues before construction starts. This can lead to more cost certainty and quicker project timelines.

“Pepper construction was determined to be the highest scoring firm,” Dowling said. “The construction management method was chosen for this project over a traditional design-bid-build method due to the project’s complexity.”

Boone County plans to bring all its emergency management services under one roof in the new building. Right now, the county’s Public Safety Communications Department is based at the Florence Government Center, while Emergency Management Services is housed in the sheriff’s department building.

At a fiscal court meeting on Feb. 4, Boone County chose Cincinnati-based SMP Architects to handle design services for the project. SMP had already played a role in the project by completing a preliminary study and space utilization study.

During that meeting, SMP Director of Design Kevin Spector noted that the project’s goal was to consolidate the operations of both departments under one roof.

“Our recommendations were really a combined facility under one roof, working together, sharing resources, sharing amenities, something that’s purposely designed for what it is, and it becomes an essential services facility,” he said.

The proposed site for the facility is at the intersection of Conrad Lane and Bullitsville Road, where a youth soccer field is currently located. The property is already zoned for public facilities. Upon completion, the building will be another addition to Boone County’s “Public Service Corridor,” which is home to the Boone County Jail, Fire Training Center and Sheriff’s Office.

At this point in the project, Boone County is solely approving Pepper Construction as the construction manager and approving a pre-construction services fee of $18,000. Pepper Construction will submit a guaranteed maximum price and construction management fee to the fiscal court at a later date.