The Clinton Judicial Center PDB (Project Development Board) held its regular monthly meeting last Friday morning, April 19, with a quorum present and only limited items to be acted on.
Board members and others on hand did discuss aspects of the project and next steps in the process.
In action that was taken during the meeting, according to board minutes, board member Jake Staton made a motion to approve a disbursement request, which was seconded by Mike Lawson and passed by unanimous vote.
A disbursement request of $255,533.56 was approved on the demolition work phase to Branscum/Codell Joint Venture ($241,557.31) and Chase Environmental Group, Inc. ($13,976.25).
Sunesis Environmental of Ohio was awarded the contract for the work, with a low bid of $362,000. The balance due to finish, including retainage, is $150,194.73, plus the added cost of a recent change order.
As the demolition of the existing buildings was almost complete, a standing water problem in the area was discovered, briefly halting work until the situation could be resolved by installing a curtain around the area and drainage pipe to divert the ground water.
A change order for that part of the work was approved in the amount of $55,187.00, boosting the total cost of the project’s completion for that phase to $417,187.00.
Also last week, on a motion by Lawson and seconded by Staton, the board voted to obtain quotes to maintain fencing around the project area “between phases” and refer costs of the quotes received to the board’s executive committee for consideration.
Other than approving two sets of minutes, for the PDB board meeting and a executive committee meeting, no other official votes were taken.
The second of four primary phases of the Judicial Center project has now been all but completed.
The three buildings that once stood as landmarks for years in downtown Albany have been removed and the landscape smoothed out, as well as the ground water problem recently encountered apparently being taken care of.
In mid-March, PDB Vice-Chairman Staton noted that the third phase of the project–which is close to getting underway–would include construction drawings and pinpointing exact costs prior to actual bidding for the construction of the new Clinton County Judicial Center facility.
There are no specific time lines on when each of the next two phases will begin or be completed, but progress is now moving at a much faster pace now than a year ago.
The new facility is expected to be completed sometime in the calendar year 2027 and is completely funded by the state through the AOC (Administrative Office of the Courts), with no local money being used.
The next regular meeting of the Judicial Center’s Project Development Board is scheduled for Friday, May 17, at 8 a.m. in the upstairs courtroom of the courthouse and is open to the public.