Officials warn recycling education center costs rising; staff to refine scope and financing

Project manager Jacob told the commission the recycling education center team has been meeting weekly with the architect and construction manager to finalize floor plans, square footage and construction estimates. Jacob said: "We've been meeting about a weekly basis with our architect and construction manager... They brought back some preliminary numbers... Kind of getting those last little bit of decisions of what we get for a project that we want."

Director emphasized cost pressure and described a range of construction challenges, including excavation and foundation choices. Director warned that construction costs could increase the project budget by roughly $1.5 million to $2 million and said staff are looking for reductions: "Our costs are another million and 0.5, million and 0.5 to 2,000,000... So we're, working with them to reduce the project, so we can still hit the numbers that we were talking about."

Staff described environmental mitigation and sustainability features planned for the site: stormwater retention, rain harvesting tied into nonpotable systems, solar to offset energy use, and on-site landscaping to provide screening. Staff emphasized the facility will be primarily indoor storage for household recyclables (not a materials-recovery facility) and that heavy processing equipment will not run on-site. Commissioners asked about environmental impacts and staff described noise, truck movements and on-site controls.

Next steps include finalizing a budget package and determining financing timing; staff said they will return with a full package once costs are locked in.