The Barton County Commission on Feb. 22 approved leases for two Great Bend locations as temporary homes for county operations during the year-long, $24.2 million HVAC replacement project, one in the former JC Penney building at 1500 Kansas and one for the former Sears story at 1509 Main.
This meant that Information Technology Director Derrick Hollingshead can begin prepping to set up the necessary IT connections to the buildings. Some of the moving could also start.
To that end, the commission Wednesday morning OKed a networking project bid from Nextech for $27,474.96.
“There are things that we need to get our temporary facilities in place, cabling switches, wireless access points, some cameras and things like that,” Hollingshead said. Normally, it is a two-week bidding process, but they cut that to one due to the urgency.
“So we felt we could cut that timeline down. That allowed us to get to agenda today,” he said. He had visited with commission Chairman Shawn Hutchinson, District 3, about bypassing the study session step and coming straight to an agenda meeting, and the other commissioners had no objections.
Hollingshead said they received six bids. Some didn’t meet the bid specifications and some were from out-of-state vendors that were unfamiliar to county officials.
So, he recommend Nextech. “They aren’t the low bid, but they are the low local bid,” he said.
The company is going to provide phone and fax service at the facilities as well. The county has also worked with them on other projects in the past with good results.
Background
Replacing the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system will necessitate closing the century-plus-old Courthouse to the public for about 12 months. The goal is to vacate the Courthouse in June and return in May 2024.
The former JC Penney building at 1500 Kansas is being leased from current owner High Noon Properties at a cost of $4.35 per square foot for the anticipated year. It will house most county offices now in the Courthouse
The former Sears store at 1709 Main will house the 20th Judicial District Court, courtrooms and Barton County Attorney’s Office. This is being leased from Great Bend LLC for $6.83 per square foot.
The commission early last month approved a bid from Kruse Corporation of Wichita for a base bid of $4,182,000 to replace the HVAC system. To pay for this, the county is using its remaining $2,803,700.37 COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act funds with the balance coming from general fund reserves.
In addition to the HVAC, the project includes new LED lighting and fixtures, a new ceiling, a new fire alarm system and a new two-way emergency communications system with access at each elevator door. An interior facelift, including new carpet and paint, is also on the list.
