Annex building options all carry high pricetag
Results from an informal analysis determined the cost of refurbishing the aging Lincoln County annex building in Libby to modernize the electrical, plumbing and heating systems are cost prohibitive county commissioner John Konzen said.
“The cost came back high, really high … like we could go build another building at that cost,” Konzen said.
County commissioner Tony Berget had suggested last month that the county purchase the former Lincoln County Credit Union building, located on California Avenue and Fifth Street, to provide more parking for county employees and to replace the annex building.
To decide if it would be more cost-effective to buy a newer building as opposed to renovating the old one, Berget had requested J.L. Regh General Contractors and Beartooth Mechanical to estimate the cost of updating the annex building.
However, the annex building’s two floors of office space has about three times the square footage of the former credit union building, not to mention the annex building’s basement that is used for storage. Even if the county purchases the 4,695-square-foot credit union building, which currently has about 15 offices, the annex would still have to house some offices. In addition, the new building would have to be renovated to fit the county’s needs.
Buying a new building or renovating the annex building or doing both are not financially realistic options for now, according to Konzen.
“It hasn’t been officially brought to the commission yet,” Konzen said, “and we’re not even entertaining it at this time.”
Konzen pointed out that the county would not be wise to take on the cost of operating and maintaining an additional building in a time of financial uncertainty.
“You pick up additional general operating costs when you pick up another building,” Konzen said. “It would be nice, for example, to have a Justice Office – to have a justice court and sheriff’s office in the same office – but it would cost to remodel.”
Konzen and Berget agree that the former credit union building’s location is convenient, across the street diagonally from the courthouse, and that the additional parking is much-needed. Currently, county employees must park in the courthouse parking lot and walk the few blocks to the annex building on Mineral Avenue.
The former credit union building came up for sale after the financial institution moved to its new location last month. Ken Boyd, director of county maintenance, suggested to commissioners, through a letter, that they purchase it for the adjacent parking and for office space to lighten the amount of use on the annex building’s old plumbing and electrical systems.
“The issue right now,” Boyd said, “is the electrical load – more computers, more copiers and people doubling up in offices.”
Electrician Ron Langley wrote a letter to commissioners in September describing the danger of the antiquated electrical system, and county employees have complained of problems with heating and ventilation, as well as security issues. The building’s elevator is also in its final years, Boyd said, and will be costly to replace when it inevitably stops working.
The county purchased the annex building in 1976 from the U.S. Forest Service, which had owned it for 20 years.