Orange County NC Website
713 <br />The County Manager told the Board that his staff would get together a .list of <br />all CETA requests and current CETA positions for the Board's review. <br />Commissioner Pinney expressed his concern over what would happen if congress <br />does not fund some CETA titles. He did not like the idea of a blanket 30 day extension <br />as suggested in case Title VI is slashed 25% to 30%. <br />Commissioner Gustaveson stated that the County Manager's staff should then use <br />its best judgment in making temporary extensions. <br />Commissioner Willhoit suggested making extensions "up to 30 days". He also <br />asked to be kept abreast of any additional information available regarding funding. <br />Agenda Item 4: Architect's Presentation of Grad Brown Alternatives <br />Mr. Nassif stated in his original feasibility study he examined each county build- <br />ing, the number of persons in these buildings, the best use of this space and county <br />program priorities. He considered expanding present county buildings and tried to <br />reassign agencies to different buildings before arriving at his final recommendation. <br />The Grady Brown building is both substantial and large - 57,000 square feet. He <br />recommended renovating Grady Brown because it would be less expensive than building <br />a new building. Mr. Nassif gave the Commissioners a tabulation of the bids received <br />and reported the requested 30 day extension had been granted. Mr. Nassif said other <br />options available are to rent additional space, rebid Grady Brown, negotiate bids on <br />Grady brown, renovate Grady Brown in phases, or do nothing at all. <br />The County Manager asked if it would be possible to renovate the old part of <br />Grady Brown first. <br />Mr. Nassif felt this was possible but not his recommendation. <br />Commissioner Walker voiced concern over the impact of having a gym beside the <br />library. <br />Mr. Nassif said that all departments were consulted during this study and.the <br />Recreation Department did not bring this to his attention when interviewed. He said <br />the Recreation Department expressed concern over parking and wanted the existing <br />playfield to serve as parking. <br />Commissioner Walker asked what had happened to the concept of converting the <br />parking area in front of the Recreation Department to a park with trees and benches. <br />Mr. Nassif stated that would happen at a later time when all parking would be <br />located in the rear. <br />Commissioner Walker asked how much the renovation would cost per square foot. <br />The County Manager stated the bid figure runs about $36.30: <br />Mr. Nassif said new construction ~rould run $40 to $45 per square foot. <br />Commissioner Walker said he believed that it would be more economical in the long <br />run (50 years) to build a new building since Grady Brown is out of the governmental <br />complex. He stated that by building a new building, we would be saving energy, etc. <br />He stated he believes Grady Brown to be too expensive for a stopgap measure. <br />Commissioner Pinney asked, "How did we miss the bid estimate so badly?" <br />Commissioner Walker stated there had been a year's delay and costs had gone up <br />during that time. <br />The County Finance Director said the county had $1,915,000 to use on this projec. <br />Commissioner Gustaveson asked if it was an acceptable practice to bid a fixed <br />contract profit and work with the contractor to negotiate separate phases of the bid. <br />Mr. Nassif replied, "As it stands now, the Board, by law, is able to negotiate <br />with low bidders in any category. This way you are assured of competitive bids". <br />The County Attorney said that he had not heard of bidding that way before. He <br />said he would look into the statutes to check this idea. <br />Commissioner Pinney stated that in any remodeling job, the contractors bid <br />high enough to cover unanticipated cast they might encounter. <br />