Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Montgomery County Justice Center project adds $2M in contracts
Agreement amendments awarded in 2-1 roll call vote
NORRISTOWN >> The ongoing construction of the Montgomery County Justice Center was awarded another $2.04 million in contracts for construction management and architectural and engineering services.
An agreement previously authorized with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP of Washington, D.C., to design the justice center and expand Hancock Square called for another $1,333,473 for “staffing and systems resources for structural design modeling and coordination, additional staffing resulting from the delayed NPDES permitting process, redesign of DRO office space at owner direction, and additional construction administration staffing to account for construction contractor performance issues,” the contract states.
The contract has been revised twice and the total figure is now listed at $27,444,369.
Additionally, a construction management contract with Skanska USA, of Parsippany, N.J., required another $709,568 for “staffing for guidance, management, and data collection for the project’s community participation program, installation and management of the project site monitoring and progress camera system, additional utility discovery and documentation, additional LEED coordination based on design and cost and constructability review for DRO space design revisions.”
The contract was initially authorized at $5.18 million and has since been revised four times. The updated figure now stands at $14,513,783.
The two previously authorized contracts were amended during last week’s Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting. The package passed in a 2-1 roll call vote with Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale dissenting.
“I’d like to point out that the original contract with Skanska started at $5 million,” Gale said. “It’s now gone to $14.5 million and the original contract with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill started at $16 million. That’s now increased to $27.5 million, and in my opinion, this level of spending is entirely too high, and I’m opposed to these expenses.”
Montgomery County Commissioners Chairwoman Val Arkoosh sought counsel from Deputy Chief Operating Officer Barbara O’Malley regarding budgetary concerns associated
with the project.
“Ms. O’Malley, just to clarify this … is within the original budget of the project and these changes will not impact the project, which is still on budget?” Arkoosh said.
“Yes, that is correct,” O’Malley replied.
Along with Gale, several area residents expressed their frustrations with the project’s expenses and stressed the need for a forum during the meeting’s public comment portion.
The $415 million Montgomery
County Justice Center project broke ground in June 2021. The project is expected to construct a 508,150-square-foot facility. It’s unclear when the project will be finished.
The next Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Nov. 17 on the eighth floor of One Montgomery Plaza, located at 425 Swede St. in Norristown. Those interested in attending the meeting can do so virtually. Visit montcopa. org for more information.