Boone County commissioners on Thursday approved construction documents for a new county health department administration building and authorized continuing the county’s owner’s‑representation agreement with CCS as the project moves to bid.

The board approved construction documents after a presentation from Clayton Haldeman, project manager and architect with Kluber Architects and Engineers, who said the current total project estimate is about $4,470,790 — roughly $34,000 higher than the design‑development estimate the board reviewed earlier. “We are just slightly above in the amount of about $34,000,” Haldeman said, adding the difference is within normal estimating margins and not the result of scope expansion.

The documents include a set of bid alternates intended to keep the base project within the board’s budget. Key alternates shown to the board were: a $25,000 allowance to install underground sanitary waste and vent lines under the slab to simplify adding a future restroom; several interior betterments such as corner guards and decorative wall panels; automatic door operators for the east addition vestibule; and a large deductive alternate to remove a proposed community room, estimated to reduce contract cost by about $242,000 if accepted.

Haldeman described the $25,000 alternate as a way to avoid later cutting into completed work: the change would stub sanitary piping out to an accessible manhole and leave the site prepared so a restroom could be added later without slab demolition. “If it is going to be a reality down the road, absolutely put that underground in,” he said when asked about the tradeoff.

Randy Darnell of CCS, the county’s construction manager, briefed the board on additional repair work included in the estimate. The base estimate includes roughly $80,000–$100,000 of unexpected lot‑grading and asphalt removal to relocate accessible parking to the building front, plus repairs at the back of the building for damaged concrete block and water intrusion. Darnell recommended advancing to the bidding phase. “Overall, plan, specification and budget meets the expectation of the project goals, and we would recommend moving forward to the bidding phase,” he said.

Commissioners discussed the deductive alternate to remove the community room and the cost to revise construction documents if that alternate is later accepted. Kluber said removing the community room from the project would require changes to architectural, structural, mechanical and plumbing drawings; Kluber estimated drawing revision costs in the mid‑teens of thousands of dollars (the firm estimated roughly $18,000) if the board accepts the alternate after bids are received.

The board approved the construction documents by motion of Commissioner Carl Johnson, seconded by Commissioner Bridal Schneider. The motion carried.

At the same meeting the board approved an updated owner’s‑representation agreement with CCS to continue construction oversight. Becky (county staff) said CCS proposed a not‑to‑exceed monthly fee of $20,000 based on current workload; CCS representatives said the small rate increases reflected routine escalation. The agreement was approved by motion of Commissioner Matt Ragano, seconded by Commissioner Brian Schneider.

Next steps: staff will issue the documents for bid and present bid results and alternate pricing at a future board meeting; the board can then decide whether to accept or reject alternates such as the community room or the $25,000 sanitary stub.

Ending: The board’s move to bid keeps the project on schedule while preserving multiple options through alternates. If bids come back above budget, the deductive alternate for the community room provides the board a defined way to reduce construction scope without canceling the entire project.