AUBURN - The Cayuga County Legislature this week chose a roof design as plans progress for county mental health services building projects.
The project involves renovating the structure at 146 North St., as well as building an addition to the existing structure and moving the mental health facility from the Old Post Office on Genesee Street in Auburn to the North Street facility, which currently serves as a continuing day treatment services center.
Jeff Spenard, a department manager from C&S Companies in Syracuse, presented the Legislature on Tuesday with two different ideas for the structure at the meeting. One option was for the addition to have a flat roof and the second option, which was more of a continuation of the first building, would incorporate a raised roof. Legislators picked the raised roof as their choice.
“The second design matches the neighborhood,” said David Axton, R-Mentz, during Tuesday's discussion.
The existing structure, which is 16,000 square feet, will be gutted and the roof will be replaced. The only thing that will remain is the shell, said county manager Wayne Allen. The addition to the building will add 9,000 more square feet, making the renovated structure a total of 25,000 square feet.
The design will have a central entrance so that visitors and patients will know where to go, Spenard said. While the rest of the building will be a one-story structure, this portion will be two stories so it stands out. There will be entrances from both sides, said Spenard, with a ramp on one side and stairs on the other.
“Security is a concern,” Spenard said of the current mental health facility, which doesn't have a central entrance and may leave people confused about where to go. “With having a main entrance, we will secure the space and make sure the staff and clients are safe.”
The tentative timeline for the building is as follows: Now that Spenard knows that the Legislature prefers the raised roof option, he can put together the construction documents, he said. By the end of 2008, he hopes to have the bid documents completed. After the holidays, a bid for the contract will be put out to the community. Then, the bids will be evaluated and if all goes as planned, they will break ground in Spring 2009. The construction will probably take between 14 to 16 months, Spenard said.
This will be a phased project, meaning that the construction will take place in different stages, because there are people who are currently in the facility and they will remain there during the construction, Allen said.
“If everything holds true, sometime in 2010 ... we'll be moving into a new building,” he said.
The projected cost for the entire project is $5.9 million, with $4.3 million going toward the cost of construction, Allen said. Because it is impossible to predict what the marketplace will be like once the bidding process begins, there is no way to tell exactly how much the cost will increase by, he said.
“Most likely, the lowest bidder, hopefully the most qualified bidder, will do the job,” Allen said.
Although the county will be facing difficult budget choices this year, this project is something that has to be done, said Ann Petrus, chairperson of the Health and Human Services committee. Petrus, R-Brutus, said that she believes it is important to stay on course and to not make any further changes in the plans.
“The more we postpone this, the more the cost of everything will go up and the county taxpayers can't afford to do that,” she said. “Sometimes you do things because it's time to do this. Let's just do it for everybody's sake - the people who are asking for the services, the people who are giving the services and the people who are paying for the services.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
Jeff Spenard, a department manager from C&S Companies in Syracuse, presented the Legislature on Tuesday with two different ideas for the structure at the meeting. One option was for the addition to have a flat roof and the second option, which was more of a continuation of the first building, would incorporate a raised roof. Legislators picked the raised roof as their choice.
“The second design matches the neighborhood,” said David Axton, R-Mentz, during Tuesday's discussion.
The existing structure, which is 16,000 square feet, will be gutted and the roof will be replaced. The only thing that will remain is the shell, said county manager Wayne Allen. The addition to the building will add 9,000 more square feet, making the renovated structure a total of 25,000 square feet.
The design will have a central entrance so that visitors and patients will know where to go, Spenard said. While the rest of the building will be a one-story structure, this portion will be two stories so it stands out. There will be entrances from both sides, said Spenard, with a ramp on one side and stairs on the other.
“Security is a concern,” Spenard said of the current mental health facility, which doesn't have a central entrance and may leave people confused about where to go. “With having a main entrance, we will secure the space and make sure the staff and clients are safe.”
The tentative timeline for the building is as follows: Now that Spenard knows that the Legislature prefers the raised roof option, he can put together the construction documents, he said. By the end of 2008, he hopes to have the bid documents completed. After the holidays, a bid for the contract will be put out to the community. Then, the bids will be evaluated and if all goes as planned, they will break ground in Spring 2009. The construction will probably take between 14 to 16 months, Spenard said.
This will be a phased project, meaning that the construction will take place in different stages, because there are people who are currently in the facility and they will remain there during the construction, Allen said.
“If everything holds true, sometime in 2010 ... we'll be moving into a new building,” he said.
The projected cost for the entire project is $5.9 million, with $4.3 million going toward the cost of construction, Allen said. Because it is impossible to predict what the marketplace will be like once the bidding process begins, there is no way to tell exactly how much the cost will increase by, he said.
“Most likely, the lowest bidder, hopefully the most qualified bidder, will do the job,” Allen said.
Although the county will be facing difficult budget choices this year, this project is something that has to be done, said Ann Petrus, chairperson of the Health and Human Services committee. Petrus, R-Brutus, said that she believes it is important to stay on course and to not make any further changes in the plans.
“The more we postpone this, the more the cost of everything will go up and the county taxpayers can't afford to do that,” she said. “Sometimes you do things because it's time to do this. Let's just do it for everybody's sake - the people who are asking for the services, the people who are giving the services and the people who are paying for the services.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
