Project supervision considered (11/18/2008)

Jay County Commissioners wrestled with whether to hire an outside project manager to oversee the jail expansion planning, or add a bit more to their designer's plate.

The commissioners met with Spike Shepler of PMSI Inc., a project manager, who would oversee all planning and logistical aspects of the expansion.

"One-hundred percent success, we've never missed a budget," he said. "What we're all about is managing risk. We're facilitators. We make sure you guys are doing what you've got to do."

Shepler stressed that a jail, more than any other project, is something that has to be meticulously planned due to security and said his firm would help to make sure that every entity, from the architect to the general contractor and equipment installers, is making the right moves.

"These jails are a huge sack of time ... a lot of effort and they're complicated," he said.

Although the commissioners could use the additional service, the management aspect is something that could be offered by SchenkelShultz's Jeff Badders, who has already been on the inside with nearly all the jail planning.

One of the main reasons for possibly piling more work onto Badders is cost, as Shepler said his usual project fee is anywhere from 3 to 5 percent of the total bond value (in Jay County's case, $300,000 to $500,000). Shepler said, however, since a lot of the initial work has been done, the price would definitely be lower.

If the commissioners waited until later stages to bring Shepler into the mix, the cost would go down. However, both Shepler and Badders agreed waiting to bring him in would be wasteful.

"To be effective and mitigate the risk, the time to bring him on would be now," Badders said.

The commissioners asked Shepler to determine a price for supervision of the jail project and return on Monday.

"It will be a fair price," Shepler said. "I guarantee you a successful project at the end. We work our hind ends off to make it happen."

Once Shepler left, the commissioners turned to Badders and asked if he would be capable of handling the project management.

"I can do it; I've done it before," he said. "There are a couple places where (Shepler) can iron out some things."

Badders assured the commissioners: "Our extended services will certainly be less than his fee."

"I feel comfortable just having you do it all," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr. to Badders. "I think we need to keep the work under SchenkelShultz."

The commissioners will wait to see Shepler's figures Monday before making a decision.

See Project page 2

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In other business Monday afternoon, the commissioners:

•Opened bids for repair of Bridge 277 on Boundary Pike between county roads 300 South and 400 South. The commissioners awarded the contract to low bidder Primco Inc. for $73,633.83, which was nearly half of the engineer's estimate of $131,714.50.

•Spoke with insurance representative John Gause, who gave the commissioners updated information about the county's current insurance provider, Principal Financial.

The commissioners also heard two different health insurance proposals Monday morning. Representatives from Old National and MainSource banks spoke to the commissioners about services they could render to the community.

Old National representative Steve Gillie returned to deliver some updated figures to the commissioners after last week's presentation. Through some competition, Gillie said he was able to secure lower rates from some of the companies.

Accompanying MainSource were representatives from Humana Inc., who presented options for a multi-year outlook that would include offering plan choices to county employees.[[In-content Ad]]