New Coffee County health department opens after delayed completion; ribbon-cutting scheduled

County staff told the Capital Outlay Committee the new Coffee County health department opened for occupancy after delays and that a ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for July 9 at 10 a.m.

The chair said the contract’s original completion date for the main building was Jan. 5; staff later said the county received a certificate of occupancy in mid-May and that the date of substantial completion recorded by the contractor was June 22, leaving the project tens to more than a hundred days past the contractual completion date depending on which milestone is measured. "They were supposed to be done January 5," the chair said; staff said discussions continue with the contractor about outstanding punch-list items.

Staff described ongoing interior punch-list work and said the county has issued letters to the contractor about completion timelines. The committee asked staff to continue monitoring the contractor’s progress and to report back on outstanding items before final disposition of the old facility (including potential sale) is completed.

The committee encouraged public attendance at the ribbon-cutting and noted that the County is also preparing ribbon-cutting events for two other projects in close succession: the TCAT facility and the new animal-control building, creating three consecutive community openings.