Firm will draft a plan

It starts with a plan.

Jay County Commissioners on Monday agreed to move forward with architectural firm MSS Engineering for drafting plans for a safety building in Jay County.

MSS Engineering offered the lowest bid, $119,000, out of six companies offering proposals for the work.

County officials have discussed building a multi-faceted facility for years to serve as a hub for Jay Emergency Medical Service, Jay County Health Department and Jay County Coroner’s Office. Department heads have shared concerns with commissioners about their current buildings, with JEMS and the health department asking for more square footage and the coroner’s office looking for a more accessible building. Currently, the coroner’s office is located in Jay County Courthouse, while the health department is on Arch Street in Portland and the EMS building is on Creagor Avenue adjacent to IU Health Jay.

Commissioners agreed in May to seek bids for the architectural design portion of the project. The following architectural firms submitted proposals for the project: Elevatus Architecture up to $193,500, RQAW Corporation at $210,000, Peterson Architecture at $195,000, American Structurepoint up to $331,500, MartinRiley at $203,000 and MSS Engineering at $119,000. 

(MSS Engineering has also been preparing designs for Jay County Solid Waste Management District’s planned new building on Tyson Road, noted commissioners president Chad Aker.)

In July, commissioners tabled a decision on whether to move forward with the design work. Commissioners Duane Monroe and Doug Horn questioned plans at that time to build the facility on the county’s 68 acres along Votaw Street on the west side of Portland, with Monroe suggesting the county look into expanding the current Portland EMS base instead. (The property and building are owned by IU Health.)

Aker returned to the topic at Monday’s meeting, pointing to discussion about where to build the structure.

“There still needs to be some type of footprints and drawings so they know how much land they’re going to need,” he said.

Aker also argued that if the county doesn’t act on its request for proposals now, companies may not submit bids again on the project in the future.

County attorney Wes Schemenaur suggested if commissioners would like to pursue expanding the existing EMS base, they should begin facilitating discussions with IU Health. (His wife Christina Schemenaur is chief operating officer and chief nursing officer of IU Health Jay.) He suggested the county could move forward with architectural designs in order to have specific information for negotiations.

“Because I think it’s important to know, probably in the negotiation, especially if you want to initiate a discussion with IU Health, I think their question’s going to be, ‘What do you want? What are you looking to do?’” he said.

Pointing to past concerns about making renovations to a property the county doesn’t own, Schemenaur noted discussions could involve a request to purchase land from the hospital.

Monroe noted he’s sent request for proposals information to Christina Schemenaur and Jay County Development Corporation executive director Ceann Bales. He voiced concerns about awarding a contract for the project when its location and specifications — either constructing a new building or adding onto an existing structure — could change.

“If it’s renovating that building, then the whole thing’s kind of a wash at that point,” he said.

Monroe asked for additional time to coordinate with Bales and Christina Schemenaur on the project. Answering a question from Bales, Wes Schemenaur noted some of the offers were valid for 30 days, a deadline that is approaching soon.

While Horn agreed the 68 acres on Votaw Street may not be his first choice, he said the county will need to have a baseline plan in order to move forward with the project.

Commissioners then approved MSS Engineering’s proposal 2-1 with Monroe dissenting.