County picks firm to start work on jail and public works projects

New Public Works facility, jail could be under way next year

Gunnison County is moving forward quickly with its plan to construct a detention center on a lot adjacent to the Gunnison County Fairgrounds, despite some discontent from representatives of the Cattlemen’s Days Committee. 

The Gunnison Board of County Commissioners gave County Manager Matthew Birnie the go-ahead to engage Project One Integrated Services, an Englewood-based design and construction firm, as an owner representative for the development of the jail as well as the construction of the planned Public Works facility. The county is looking to start the construction of the new jail as soon as 2011.
“Our decision really came down to a recommendation for Project One because of the breadth of their experience,” Birnie said. “From what we’ve seen, they’re good at getting the cost and fees right… Our reference checks really gave us a lot of confidence.”
Project One has done work for Arapahoe County and Denver Water, and has designed and constructed other large projects on the Front Range.
Birnie and Assistant County Manager Marlene Crosby teamed up to look at several design and construction firms, including F&D International and the Blythe Group & Co., which is the Gunnison RE1J school district’s owner representative for the ongoing school renovation projects.
All three of the firms considered by the county were qualified to take on the development of the new $8.7 million detention center and the $6 million public works facility, which the county chose to pair for efficiency’s sake.
“We wanted one project management firm [to represent the County for both projects] because of the ease of interface,” Birnie said. “All three of the firms we interviewed brought something of value. But one other thing [Project One] brought was a real deep team and access to engineers. They come from more of the design side but also have extensive project management experience.”
While Project One didn’t have a clear advantage over the competition, according to the county managers, the company has experience with jail construction and they employ a construction manager who has worked on Mountaineer Square and lives part of the year in the Gunnison Valley.
“Every reference we spoke with talked about Project One being able to bring the project in on time and under budget,” Crosby told the commissioners. “They also have a mechanical engineer on staff and a lot of our facility has a lot to do with that type of engineering.”
One aspect of the Public Works facility that will require a close engineering eye is the biomass generator that will heat the public works building using wood products collected from the local forests. There are also elements of the jail, like the communications and locking systems, that require specialized expertise to which the Project One staff has access.
As the managers conducted the interviews with the three firms, Birnie said Project One pulled ahead of the others with preparation, doing research into the county’s projects and coming to the meeting better prepared and with more to offer than the other firms.
However Birnie said he still expects to issue a “request for proposals” for an architect for both of the county’s projects. The commissioners voted Tuesday to authorize Birnie to negotiate a contract and execute documents necessary to get the projects moving.
The county hopes to break ground on the jail next year, a year ahead of the construction schedule recommended in the Strategic Plan.
According to Birnie, “The board is hoping to get the projects moving so the county can take advantage of the Build America bonds [that are part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act] and get some money flowing into the community as soon as they can.”