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6 | JANUARY 7, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM Swank Awarded County Building Project
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Commission votes 2-1 to move forward with South Campus project
By MOLLY PRIDDY of the Beacon
The new South Campus building proj- ect for Flathead County took a major step forward when the county commission awarded the construction bid for the proj- ect to Swank Enterprises on Dec. 31.
With the 2-1 vote, the project – which will be a $6 million building housing the county’s Agency on Aging program, and a new dental office for the city-county health department – is closer to becoming a real-
ity. Swank bid $5,969,000 for the project. Commissioners Cal Scott and Gary Krueger voted to award Swank the bid, while Commissioner Pam Holmquist vot- ed against it because she felt the project is
already too much over budget.
Holmquist said she felt the new build-
ing is necessary, especially for the AOA de- partment and as a new location for the Ka- lispell Senior Center, but the bids came in higher than the county expected, and with total costs, including architecture and per- mit fees, it sits at about $7 million.
“This project grew way beyond the needs we were addressing and now we find ourselves 20 percent over budget,” Hol- mquist said. “I support the relocation of the seniors but I do not support being 20 percent over budget.”
On Dec. 29, the commission looked at the bids and discussed the various costs of the project, many of which were deemed structural costs, and therefore unavoid- able.
During the Dec. 31 hearing, Krueger said he wasn’t thrilled the bids came in higher than expected, but he was ready to move forward with the project while keep- ing an eye on the future.
Part of the bids include laying concrete on the second-floor roof of the building to prepare for the eventual third floor and sky bridge that will connect the South Campus
A rendering of the proposed building on the Flathead County campus in Kalispell. COURTESY IMAGE
building to the Earl Bennett building.
“I could take it all out and reduce it by 20 percent, but then I wouldn’t be think- ing for the future,” he said. “We’re going to think about what is in the best interest for
Flathead County.”
Scott, making one of his final decisions
as commissioner before Commissioner- elect Phil Mitchell takes over, said there has been enough due diligence on this mat- ter, and that the county is more than ready to start this project.
“It is a necessity for our community, as a matter of public health and safety, that we do this,” Scott said. “I believe it’s eco- nomically sound, although there is some cost overrun from our estimate.”
Scott said the bid would “prepare for the future at today’s costs,” and that the prolonged discussion on the South Cam- pus building was overwrought.
“We’ve been through this so many times before I find it rather frustrating that we have to even have this discussion any further,” Scott said.
Swank’s bid was $19,000 higher than the lowest bid from Oswood Construction Co. of Great Falls. At the hearing, deputy county attorney Tara Fugina said her of- fice was charged with looking into negative references for the company, and said “pub- lic records indicated issues with Oswood’s
performance” on previous projects.
In light of that information, Krueger said he would prefer to award the bid to
Swank instead, which Scott seconded. Incoming Commissioner Phil Mitch- ell said in an interview on Jan. 2 that he was not pleased with the outcome of the vote, and that he would have voted against awarding the bid for two or three weeks until the costs could have been negotiated
down.
“My issue is I wanted to slow down on
this, and we should have kept the public abreast of costs,” Mitchell said. “We al- ways told them it was $6 million and now we’re at $7.5 (million).”
Mitchell said he would work to make sure the county isn’t victim to ever-in- creasing costs for the project.
“I can’t change it; I can make sure we can come in on budget,” Mitchell said. “I’m not going to fight it, but I’m going to make sure people live in their budgets. We’re not going to be change-ordered to death.”
Swank Enterprises built the Earl Ben- nett Building, which will be a neighbor to the new South Campus building, including the addition of the third floor in 2009. Con- struction on the South Campus project is expected to start in the spring, county of- ficials said.
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