Government Center, LEC remodels joined but different

Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series on the potential move of Health and Human Services downtown. Look to upcoming editions of the Herald for more.

The Mower County Board is looking at a tale of two remodels in one.

The first — remodeling the Government Center to house Health and Human Services — is an overhaul.

The second — a joint remodel of the Law Enforcement Center — is more of a facelift.

County officials have discussed remodeling the Government Center for $3.8 million since opening the $28-million Jail and Justice Center. The task, according to County Coordinator Craig Oscarson, is quite an undertaking.

“It’s not simply putting carpet and wallpaper in and then moving the offices in,” Oscarson said. “It’s a gut and remodel.”

Oscarson said because Health and Human Services would take space previously occupied by a jail and courtrooms, a major renovation is needed. He said it wouldn’t be a good work environment to leave the jail as is and simply move the roughly 70 positions of Health and Human Services into the building.

“You’ve got cells. You’ve got bars,” he said. “It’s just not designed for office space.”

Two completely different animals

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.

The city of Austin has also set aside $800,000 for the LEC repairs.

While the commissioners seem to support swapping the more than $250,000 a year paid at Oak Park Mall for the vacant, county-owned space, some are still balking at the price tag.

Though much debate remains before the Government Center remodel moves forward, the LEC remodel is already mostly funded.

Commissioner Jerry Reinartz said the projects are two completely different animals.

Though Reinartz would like to hone in the costs of the Government Center project, he said the LEC changes are a must. Along with space issues, Reinartz noted there are concerns with mold and outdated equipment in the LEC.

“We’ve got to move ahead and take care of those things anyway,” Reinartz said.

Though the two projects are technically separate, much of the work will be completed at the same time if the board votes to move Health and Human Services downtown.

For example, system improvements to the heating, cooling, electrical, plumbing and the phone system will be done jointly for the LEC and Health and Human Services offices, should the board vote to move forward.

To gut, or not to gut

Commissioner Tony Bennett said he’s heard a fair amount of support for the move to the Government Center, as long as the price is right.

“I think most people agree that there should be a move,” he said.

However, Bennett said, people are telling him government should make do with the best it has, like small businesses must do. In essence, not everything would be new, as the remodel would be stripped down and they would only repair and remodel what is absolutely necessary.

“They want to see government bootstrap something for once, not just get everything everybody wants exactly perfect,” Bennett said. “Government needs to operate that way.”

Oscarson said much of the costs for the Government Center remodel will go toward fully gutting parts of the building. The old cells of the jail will need to be removed and the old courtrooms will need to be stripped.

But instead of a complete gut of much of the building, Bennett said he’d like to discuss ways to make due with what they have in certain areas for a less extensive remodel.

“Do you gut the place and remodel or are there portions that can be used with a little bit of paint?” Bennett said.

For example, Bennett said, the parts of first floor of the building were used for offices before staff moved to the Jail and Justice Center.

“They were usable at that time,” he said. “I think they’re usable now.”

‘We’re not looking for the Taj Mahal’

For the LEC, the work isn’t a matter of expanding, it’s a matter of repairing what they have, according to Sheriff Terese Amazi.

“It isn’t so much that we want more space and new space,” she said. “It’s just to repair. Right now dispatch is in that small room, and we keep losing monitors and things that are getting overheated because there’s not enough circulation in there.

“This is essential equipment, and the fact that we keep burning it out is concerning.”

Reinartz agrees.

“Space is a problem there in the LEC,” he said. “They’re pretty cramped, especially in dispatch.”

In other parts of the LEC, mold is visible and some parts need “tender loving care,” according to Amazi.

The LEC was last renovated in 1995, when sheetrock was put in and detective offices were built.

Amazi said she is excited for adjustments to the lobby and repairs to worn areas of the offices.

“We’re not looking for the Taj Mahal,” Amazi said. “Just clean and no mold.”

Amazi said it’s an expensive task to remove jail cells.

“It’s very expensive,” she said. “This was meant to keep people in.”

Still, Oscarson said, removing jail cells isn’t as expensive as one might think. Contractors have said the work often goes quick with modern equipment. The contractor may also be able to salvage and sell some of the scraps.