The Pulaski County Commissioners and Council were updated on the courthouse project during their joint session Monday.
In a previous story, bids for the various categories within the courthouse project were opened by commissioners. In that meeting, Pulaski County Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer stated Tonn and Blank Construction was reviewing each bid and would potentially have adjustments to the project plans and incoming feedback from subcontractors before they award some of the categories outright.
During the joint session Monday, Origer announced the bids in total came in at about $3.5 million over where the county needed them to be. He added he has been working with Tonn and Blank to review and revise the project scope in efforts to put seven or eight bid categories out for re-bid. Origer said they have been able to cut roughly $2.1 million of the $3.5 million. He stated they believe they will be able to cut another $500,000 to $700,000 just from one bid category.
Origer announced there are still two to three categories where they are awaiting responses from subcontractors and suppliers to know exactly how much the county would be able to rework those bids. Origer said based on the current schedule, they will have received and reviewed bids by the middle of March 2024. He added they should be able to award bids by the first county commissioner meeting in April.
Origer announced with the rebidding delay, he speculated the project should be wrapped up by Labor Day of 2025 at the latest.
