Race is on to ready old armory for emergency center
Designs for the Office of Emergency Management's Emergency Operation Center include a kitchen, office space for Hayden-based deputies, and housing for KCSO's K-9 units. Photo courtesy Cory Trapp of Longwell and Trapp Architects.
Remodeling on the Kootenai County Emergency Operation Center begins a mad dash to completion as the ability to use CARES Act dollars approaches.
County commissioners approved the building's $313,000 contract with Ginno Construction in Tuesday's business meeting. Shaun Riley, county project manager, said if all goes well, workers will start Monday.
"It's gotta go fast. We don't have a lot of time for this," Riley said.
The layout includes a complete remodel of the facility, Riley said, including an updated fire alarm system, security system, resealing and striping the parking lot, a new HVAC system, flooring, and some cabinetry work. Usually, this can take four to five months, but the county has only a little over two.
Despite the time restraints, Riley believes Ginno Construction and Longwell and Trapp Architects will finish on time.
"If I didn't think it could be done, I would've pulled it off the table," Riley said.
Most of the remodeling is finishing work. In anticipation of moving the project forward, county commissioners had already permitted Riley and the contractor companies to perform asbestos testing and design work.
Previously housed in the basement of the KCSO Government Way facility, the OEM was often displaced because of the lack of available space. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the OEM was forced to set up a temporary emergency center at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. By establishing a permanent location for the OEM, the building will provide 24/7 emergency operations, training spaces for first responders, housing for Kootenai County Sheriff's K-9 unit, and Hayden-based deputies.
"This building is a great opportunity to have the OEM conduct their operations in the same building, and we won't have to worry about finding a place that is big enough to hold them anymore," Riley said.
The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Management proposed the purchase and remodeling of the vacant Army Reserve building at the Coeur d'Alene Airport-Pappy Boyington Field in August after receiving $650,000 in CARES Act dollars.
OEM will spend the remaining $337,000 to obtain and install communications equipment, furniture, and handle relocation costs.
To have construction costs fall under CARES Act expenses, the project must be completed by year's end or else the county will have to pay out of pocket.