Commissioners receive update on two construction projects

Churchill County commissioners learned at Wednesday’s meeting of the progress being made at two construction sites.

Cliff Van Woert, a building official with the county, said construction on the new law enforcement center began at 180 W. A St, on July 13 with a completion time of 455 days. Commissioners had approved a bid in June for $15,245,911 to Sletten Construction in cooperation with the team from Arrington Watkins Architects for construction. The funding comes from a 32-year loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture of Rural Development at an interest rate of 2.75 percent. Wells Fargo will fund the construction process until the USDA takes over.

Van Woert said construction crews are installing 500 piers, each pier being 15-feet in length. He said the piers are being placed in the ground at 7-foot intervals to stabilize the foundation for earthquake safety.

“They’re placing between 25 to 30 piers each day,” Van Woert said, adding that the completion should be finished by Sept. 13.

Van Woert said the next milestone on the project will focus on pouring a concrete slab for the housing area and then on the administration part of the building. Structural work, according to Van Woert, should begin in December.

If construction goes as planned, he said completion of the new law enforcement center should occur in December 2017.

“Progress on the site is still pretty good,” he added.

Of the 39,000 square feet, the center will initially house 120 beds, medical cells and several other amenities.

Ray Ferguson of Ferguson Construction gave an update on the William N. Pennington Life Center on South Maine Street, adjacent to the museum. The new $4.3 million, 15,000-square foot senior center should be finished by March 31, 2017.

Both the city and county applied for a grant in 2014 to the William N. Pennington Foundation and last summer signed a construction agreement to build the new senior center. The $2 million grant, which is matched with contributions from the city, county and the Coalition of Senior Citizens, will cover the project’s first two phases, which includes the base bid for construction with a section of the building shelled out to complete in the second phase.

Phase II includes a proposed beauty salon, retail space, multi-purpose rental area and a wellness exam area.

Ferguson said the schedule to finish the center is realistic. He said construction crews began erecting the building’s frame and should have that finished next week.

“There’s a great deal of activity going on,” Ferguson told commissioners.

The commissioners also approved an evaluation for County Manager Eleanor Lockwood. Geoff Stark, director of human resources, said the overall comments from the three commissioners were positive, and Lockwood scored high marks in seven areas: job knowledge, interaction with the community, job productivity, planning, public relations, work environment and overall performance.

Stark said the overall rating was above the minimum for a merit increase.

Commissioner Pete Olsen said the evaluation reflects satisfaction from his colleagues.

“Today’s meeting is a good example of the broad view we expect from our county manager,” added Commissioner Bus Scharmann.

He said Lockwood has been actively involved with the two major construction projects, the Pine Grove project and improvements on Casey Road.

Other agenda items included the following:

Listened to an update on the current wildland fire season from Terri Knutson, field director for the Bureau of Land Management’s Stillwater Field Office.

Listened to a presentation from Dan Westermeyer, assistant field manager, on wilderness study areas.

Listened to an update from Wayne and Pat Whitten on the Lahontan Valley Clay Breakers on their 2016 season.

Approved the first reading of Bill 2016-D, Ordinance 117, an ordinance authorizing and directing the issuance of revenue interim debenture in anticipation of the receipt of certain funds and the issuance and sale of a revenue bond of the county.

Approved a water and sewer connection agreement with Alfred Valverde and Glenn Brown of the Casey Road Mobile Home Park and Storage.

Approved Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund Contract No.CW1701 with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection for the Pine Grove Utility System Improvement and Upgrade Project.

Approved a professional services agreement with Day Engineering for Pine Grove Sewer infrastructure improvements.