County seeks $250,000 from unallocated CIP to finish detention medical expansion after smoke-control design issue

Ken Moore, the division manager for project management, told the commissioners the detention facility medical expansion is nearing completion but encountered delays and additional work related to the smoke-control system, which required revised shop drawings and extra exhaust and ducting in detention-grade ceilings.

"This I will qualify this as a design miss," Moore said, and he reported the project is trending about $250,000 over in this $46,400,000 project. Moore asked the board to authorize transferring unallocated CIP funds into the project so contractors can proceed with needed change orders and final inspections by South Metro Fire.

Commissioners pressed staff on technical details — including whether pepper-spray particulate handling or separation of zones influenced the review — and staff said the smoke-control conversation was specific to the medical expansion's stand-alone zones. Staff emphasized they were not paying vendors for the specific design changes at this time and plan to pursue a lessons-learned and potential negotiation about responsibility for added costs after the project is finished.

The board indicated informal support to move the funding request forward so the work can be completed and the new space occupied.