Facilities director outlines FY27 building-and-grounds budget with safety and refresh requests

Jeff Fuller, director of facilities, told Kootenai County commissioners he had three FY27 budgets to present: building and grounds, the maintenance portion of the juvenile detention facility, and reprographics. He said there were no personnel requests in the A budget and noted only modest overall changes driven by health benefit increases.

Fuller said the department found reductions in several B-budget lines, including fuel and janitorial supplies based on three-year trends, and savings from changing fire-monitoring vendors. He told commissioners he left $70,100 in the noncapital equipment line for a washer and dryer “to wash our mops” on-site rather than transporting them to the juvenile detention center.

On small capital and miscellaneous supplies Fuller outlined $8,500 to replace worn meeting-room tables, $900 for county logos to mount behind the dais, and about $3,000 for a lectern logo and related items. He said those were discretionary and could be deferred.

Fuller described a jump in elevator service costs tied to contract arrangements: three elevators in the justice center are serviced by Schindler and require a $16,848 contract; other campus elevators are under TK Elevators. He said a full contract proposal will appear on the county’s business meeting agenda next Tuesday.

The department also proposed two capital projects. First, a joint buildings/grounds/IT panic-button system Fuller estimated at $32,000 in year one with an ongoing $12,000 annual service fee; he said interest revenue is budgeted in a five-year plan to cover the cost. Second, a nonstructural refresh of Meeting Room 1A/1B with a vendor quote of about $18,000 to recolor the dais and spray-coat doors; Fuller explicitly said the refresh could be cut if commissioners preferred.

Commissioners questioned the timing and scale of the refresh. The chair suggested a lower-cost stain or minor repairs instead of the quoted package and several participants agreed the expense could be deferred this year.

Fuller reviewed juvenile detention maintenance needs separately. He said worn gaskets on a large backflow valve received a quote “just under $7,000” and that a jail control-room hardware/software upgrade is estimated at $24,893, to be funded with interest revenue. He added two projects tied to restricted juvenile-detention funds are forthcoming on the business agenda: a reroofing project and a planned generator service-area upgrade, for which he estimated roughly $15,000 pending a load study.

Reprographics was largely held flat after moving some direct-admin costs into indirect admin; Fuller noted a small software increase ($225) and an equipment need for an additional stapler.

Fuller closed by inviting questions; commissioners offered limited comment and did not take action during the presentation. The chair thanked him and moved to the next agenda item.