Flathead County: Building project moving forward
The Flathead County commissioners on Thursday took another step toward the construction of a $6 million South Campus Building, authorizing a notice for construction bids and setting a Dec. 23 deadline to open the bids.
The intent is to award the contract for the project by the end of the year, county Administrator Mike Pence said.
CTA Architects Engineers of Kalispell has designed the building, and prior to Thursday’s vote David Mitchell of CTA gave a presentation about the design details.
The two-story facility will be built along First Avenue West south of the Earl Bennett Building. It will provide space not only for the Agency on Aging but also Health Department services such as the dental clinic plus space for the Maintenance Department. It will be built as a “bookend” building to the Earl Bennett Building, with the potential for construction of a third floor as space is needed.
A sky bridge similar to one used by Glacier Bank in downtown Kalispell is being considered to connect the two companion buildings, but that would be built later as a separate project, Pence said.
Construction is targeted to begin in March 2015 with completion in the fall.
Commissioners Gary Krueger and Cal Scott said they are pleased the project is moving forward. Commissioner Pam Holmquist was absent from Thursday’s meeting.
“This project has been on Flathead County’s books for a number of years, and it is finally good to see that it is time, and that the planning and haggling over what the plans are going to look like and where the building is going to be built is done, and we are going to move forward into the actual construction,” Krueger said.
“We are going to end up with a building that will be ... a very usable, very modern asset to Flathead County.”
Scott pointed out the county has been contemplating how to address its space needs — particularly for the Agency on Aging — for most of the past 10 years. He sees the construction of the South Campus Building as addressing a critical need “rather than wait until it is too late.
“I commend Commissioner Krueger for his foresight in working through the process to be able to fund this project that is desperately needed for our people in Flathead County, at no further additional cost to taxpayers.”
The capital improvement plan, a planning document for physical improvements to county facilities, earmarks $3 million for the south campus building in the 2015 budget with the remaining $3 million budgeted for 2016.
In October the commissioners unanimously affirmed that the county will continue providing services for seniors through the Agency on Aging. Holmquist, however, voted against the county budget and capital improvement plan that earmarked the money for the South Campus Building.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.