Juvenile Hall cost continues rising

New buildings have leaks, air conditioning issues

SALINAS >> Already millions overbudget, the new Monterey County Juvenile Hall project’s costs continue to go up. This as county officials find themselves in an ongoing dispute with the project’s contractor and dealing with water leakage and air conditioning system issues in the new buildings.

On Tuesday, the county Capital Improvement Committee endorsed an additional $725,560 in funding for the new Juvenile Hall for this fiscal year while also postponing a request for an additional $1.63 million in anticipated project costs for the next fiscal year.

Supervisor John Phillips said the committee agreed to back the funding for this year because it covers already approved project change orders for the new Juvenile Hall’s first phase, but decided to put off the second funding request applying to the project’s second phase because it had “a lot of questions.”

If the entire requested $2.35 million in additional funding is approved, the total Juvenile Hall project cost would soar to about $64.5 million, already nearly $6 million more than the original cost estimate of $58.7 million. Since the state has already agreed to cover $35 million of the project cost, the county must pay for the remainder including any cost

overruns, which is already approaching $30 million.

Phillips noted the project’s cost overruns have already eaten through its entire contingency, as well as leftover funding from the East-West Wing project. It is now tapping county general fund contingencies. He said the project may also end up having to use cannabis tax revenue funding, which now exceeds $27.6 million.

Also, project costs are expected to continue rising for both phases of the new Juvenile Hall construction, according to a county staff report.

A staff report to the Capital Improvement Committee indicated the project team is already reviewing an additional $360,000 in change order requests from project contractor Zovich Construction, which would be included in future funding requests if staff signs off.

In all, Zovich has submitted claims for 539 days of delay, while the county has agreed to 153 as compensable,

leaving the remaining days in dispute. Additional claims could still be submitted by the contractor, the report said.

The first phase of the new Juvenile Hall is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy by March 31, nearly two years after its original target completion date of July 11, 2018. The first phase includes five buildings including two 30-bed housing units, an administration building for staff, youth processing, visitation and medical services, a school building with classrooms, a gymnasium and staff support offices, and renovation of an existing 30-bed dormitory.

But the completion of the project’s initial phase is contingent on several factors, including:

• Various state agency approvals.

• Resolution of water intrusion and heating ventilation and air conditioning issues in the new buildings.

• The need for a new roof and HVAC system in the renovated dorm.

A staff report indicated water leakage was discovered during rainstorms in December, while the HVAC system is producing “excessive

noise” in all the buildings.

A second phase, now expected to start in April with a target June 30, 2021 completion date, includes demolition of two buildings to be replaced by a new 30-bed maximum security housing unit and a new support services building with kitchen and laundry. Staff indicated it is trying to keep costs down in the second phase of the project but additional change orders are expected.

Meanwhile, Sheriff’s Chief Deputy John Thornburg said Wednesday the $88.9 million County Jail expansion project is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy by April or early May. That’s about nine months after its target completion date of July 31 last year, however, the project remains within budget.