County told justice building will reach occupancy June 6; commissioners asked to sign larger FF&E contracts

Turner & Townsend project lead David Mendez told the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners on May 27 that the new justice building is on track to receive a certificate of occupancy on June 6, 2025, and that furniture deliveries will begin shortly after.

The status update, delivered during the commissioners’ regular status meeting, covered remaining punch-list work, furniture, and miscellaneous fixtures, known in procurement as FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment). "The contractor assures us that they're online to get their occupancy certification by the sixth still," Mendez said.

Why it matters: county staff will take physical possession once the certificate is issued, and several follow-on purchases and operational decisions must be completed before public access and staff moves. Commissioners must also decide how to authorize purchases that exceed administrative signature limits.

Details from the presentation included a previously authorized pursuit of interior and exterior window blinds. Staff said the project originally planned for a rough order of magnitude (ROM) at about $50,000. Final vendor pricing exceeded the county’s $25,000 signature threshold for staff-level approvals, and Mendez asked whether he should return with the contract for commissioner signatures. A commissioner noted the amount was above $25,000 and asked that the contract be brought forward for formal approval.

Project staff said the exterior blinds ordered will serve offices on the building’s west elevation to reduce late-afternoon sun in those spaces. Project staff also listed a number of smaller FF&E and operating items that remain to be purchased: lobby beam seating (a procurement was on the commissioners’ business meeting agenda the same day), janitorial equipment (vacuum and floor scrubbers, mops, brooms, push carts), trash bins for restrooms and offices, and public notice boards to be placed before security screening for court schedules and notices.

Staff recommended adding automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and naloxone (Narcan) stations on each floor; those items would be included in the FF&E budget. Mendez also raised logistics for staff and public tours after move-in, recommending a short wait after furniture installation so movers can complete staging. He estimated it would take about three weeks to complete the bulk of furniture installation starting the week of June 9.

The sheriff’s office asked whether the lower-level holding area could be made available for temporary use during the July 4 holiday; project staff said they expect that can be accommodated in the lower sally port/holding area and would facilitate the request with the sheriff’s office. Commissioners expressed support for staff organizing staff tours and a ribbon-cutting event once the building is set up.

What remains open: staff will present any contracts that exceed the county signature threshold for formal approval; the commissioners did not take a formal vote during the status update. The precise final blind contract price and an itemized FF&E budget update were presented verbally but not recorded in formal motion; staff said they will return with documentation and the business meeting would include a beam-seating proposal that afternoon.

Public access and ribbon-cutting timing will depend on completion of furniture installation and final turnover tasks.