Campbell County awarded the construction manager-at-risk contract for its new public safety building project to Conger Construction Group.
The building is slated for property at 1114 Racetrack Road in Alexandria. The new safety complex will house the Campbell County Police Department, the Campbell County Office of Emergency Management, the Campbell County Consolidated Dispatch Center, and the Campbell County Coroners’ Office.
In October, according to Campbell County Administrator Matt Elberfeld, the county issued a request for proposals for a construction manager. The county received seven proposals; three of those were selected by the selection committee as finalists.
The committee, comprising members of the fiscal court and Brandstetter Carroll Architects, interviewed the three firms and recommended Conger Construction based on their proposal, the interview, and past experience.
The construction manager will work in two phases. The first phase is the pre-construction phase, for which the county will pay a flat fee. Elberfeld said it should be about $76,000, but it is authorized for up to $80,000. The construction manager will review the building design, work with the project’s architect, and provide material recommendations.
“The earlier they’re engaged in the design, the more value they bring, the more efficient they bring, because they can help the architect firm finish those documents,” Elberfeld said.
Once the project is through the pre-construction phase, the construction manager will propose a guaranteed maximum price, and at that point will commit to building the facility for no more than that amount. Elberfeld estimated that it would happen in June or July. Their compensation during the construction phase is a percentage fee based on the building’s value, which is 2.1%.
“This whole piece is being laid out for efficiency, and efficiency should come to value, right?” Campbell County Commissioner Geoff Besecker said. “I don’t know that we can overstate value with this. What their job is going to be is not to build the building. It’s going to be to save us money and to make sure that the building is functionally operational for decades to come.”
Elberfeld said Conger Construction and Brandstetter Carroll Architects will present their services and timeline estimates at a future fiscal court meeting.
“It’s very detailed, a very important project for the county and its residents, so I’m impressed with the work that’s been done, and I want to thank staff for that,” Campbell County Commissioner Tom Lampe said.
The Campbell County Police Department and the Campbell County Office of Emergency Management are both currently located in an out-of-date building, according to the county, on Constable Drive in Alexandria.
The county currently rents space from a funeral home in Erlanger for body storage and for performing sampling for the Campbell County Coroner’s Office. The new location will provide them with a purpose-built design space, and the county will no longer have to pay rent.
The Campbell County Consolidated Dispatch Center is currently in the basement of the Newport City Building at 998 Monmouth St. The Newport Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution on June 16 allowing the dispatch center to relocate to the new facility.
