St. Croix County government center “on budget” so far at $80,279,676
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
HUDSON — The St. Croix County government center remodeling and expansion project is “on budget” so far with a total of $80,279,676 for four bid packages.
Two bid packages are still in the works yet, one for audio-visual equipment and components, which was due in a few days, and one for plumbing, a generator and wood plastics and composites that would be due in May, the St. Croix County Board learned at the April 4 meeting.
The government center project includes an addition to the south side for housing the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department as well as other tenants, such as the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and the public defender’s office.
The addition on the north side includes a loading dock and a freight elevator, and the remainder of the existing building will be renovated to make better use of the space for all of the offices and the courts on the second floor
The sixth bid package is estimated at $7 million and is more difficult for the smaller businesses to bid on, said Curt Schleicher, the project manager with the Samuels Group.
The remaining items in the sixth bid package will be broken into smaller sections so that the smaller businesses will be able to bid, he said.
With the bids that have come in so far, the project is right on budget at $80,279,676, Schleicher said.
One county board member noted that the project so far is $279,000 over the $80 million budget approved by the St. Croix County Board.
The $80,279,676 includes the bids that have been received so far as well as the estimates for the parts of the project that are still in the bid process, Schleicher said.
The St. Croix County Board approved borrowing $80 million for new construction and for the remodeling, said Ken Witt, county manager.
As of December 31, 2022, the $80 million, which was invested, has generated $790,000 in interest and will generate between $2 million and $3 million in interest before the project is done, he said.
The project can go up to $82 million, and “we are okay,” Witt said.
After the St. Croix County Board had approved the government center project last year, Witt had recommended that the county board borrow the money while the interest rates were still low and then to invest the money until it was needed to start paying for the government center so that interest could be earned on the $80 million investment during the interim.
In addition, the budget contains a contingency for $5 million for unknown future potential costs, Witt said.
If the architects were able to estimate perfectly, and zero money is needed for contingency, that money can be used to add projects back into the government center project, Witt said.
If there are “no surprises,” the project total could end up at $75million, he said.
The contingency, if not needed on the additions, could then be used to add in parts of the project that were dropped, such as a health and wellness clinic, the road to Vine Street and the solar panels, Witt said.
The $80 million that was borrowed must be used on the government center, he noted.
If the contingency fund must be used, it will most likely be on the remodeling portion of the project, Witt said, noting that problems with the remodeling portion of the project would not be known yet for several years.
The contingency fund is set at 7 percent of the project, which is on the high side for a contingency fund, noted Bob Long, chair of the St. Croix County Board.
The current government center was built in 1993 when St. Croix County’s population was just over 50,000. Today, the county’s population is nearly double at 93,000.
