The county’s remodeling pieces are in place, and now it’s a matter of fitting them into a puzzle.

The county took a small step forward Tuesday on the big task of remodeling the Law Enforcement Center and Government Center.

County Coordinator Craig Oscarson and the county’s building committee — Commissioners Mike Ankeny and Jerry Reinartz — met with the construction manager and architect for the project Tuesday to discuss where offices for Health and Human Services will be located, costs for the project and how to begin planning.

As Oscarson noted, remodels are often more complex to plan than a new building, largely because of the limitations and puzzle pieces already in place, like existing offices, flooring, piping and wiring.

Location, location, location

While the bulk of Health and Human Services will likely be located on the second floor in the old courtrooms and jail space, a key question is where the lobby, waiting and meeting space will be located.

Some talk centered around positioning the lobby and offices that work with the public most on the main floor.

“We’ve got to get a handle on how much room they need,” said architect Paul Johnson of Paul R. Johnson Architects. “My concern is we’re going to start running out of room real quick.”

Most of the decisions will come when architect Johnson and John Pristash of construction manager Knutson Construction Services begin meeting with county staff.

“A lot of this stuff is going to be cooked out with staff,” Oscarson said.

Another concern is placing staff — especially dispatch — during construction. Health and Human Services will remain at Oak Park Mall, and dispatch could move to the basement for about a month when the current space is expanded and renovated. However, Oscarson said the county would like to limit the number of times employees move.

Outdated systems

Pristash said one early order of business will be mapping what they’re working with.

“We need to scour this place,” Pristash said, noting the county can reduce — or at least plan for — unknown costs by spotting issues before construction.

Since the building was built in pieces, many parts of the second floor aren’t even and there are ramps near the old court rooms.

With the jail being torn out, there’s a question of what to do with salvaged steel. Both Johnson and Pristash recommended the county let the contractor sell the steel and subtract the costs from their bid rather than the county selling the material itself.

Much of the phone and network will be upgraded, and much of the piping in the building is aging.

Many components of the heating and air conditioning systems are aging, and date back to the 1960s and 1970s. Johnson and Pristash talked about replacing some, but much of that work isn’t currently budgeted.

Johnson and Pristash will likely identify the outdated systems, and Ankeny suggested making a list of recommendations on a timeline for future replacements and work.

A key concern is keeping the project within budget. The county’s cost for the two projects is about $4.6 million — about $3.8 million for the government center remodel and about $800,000 for the county’s share of remodeling the Law Enforcement Center. Including all costs — county and non-county — County Coordinator Craig Oscarson said the entire project is closer to $6 million.

The city’s share of the LEC costs complicates things. If the LEC remodel goes over budget, which some estimates show it might, Oscarson said they’ll have to decide what the city will pay.

“It’s two projects intertwined in one,” Oscarson said.

As bids come in for contractors, county officials are hoping the bulk of the money stays with local firms.

“I think it’s important keep as much of the contracting work in town as we can,” Reinartz said.