Increasing material costs to the Lassen County Historic Courthouse renovation is stretching the budget thin, forcing the county to come up with additional funds to complete the project. Richard Egan, County Administrator to the Board of Supervisors, the courthouse is in its final major renovation stage of the three-phase project. Contractors are set to begin work this spring.
Out of the four bids received by the county, the contract for the renovations has been awarded to Ginno Construction, a company based in Chico, for 5.6 million dollars. The Board of Supervisors also approved an additional quarter million dollars for a proposed window package, which was deemed to be a cost-effective solution to complete the renovation and improve the courthouse’s appearance, using the existing windows of the building.
The contract includes a 7% contingency of $400,000 to cover any change orders and miscellaneous repairs that may arise in the century-old building. The county plans to cover the additional funds required to complete the project by using two installments of $1.5 million annually received in tribal funds that will go into the general fund. Construction is expected to begin on May 1st, and the project is scheduled to be completed by mid-December.
Additional expenses estimated to come in the following year include $400k to the architect and moving, IT/audio, and visual expenses. The county has also estimated that it will cost around $200k for furniture, $22k for roof repairs, $100-150k for a generator and housing. These expenses are expected to be covered by the balance of the tribal funds that the county will receive over the next two years.
The project was approved in the summer of 2018, with the help of Assemblyman Brian Dahle. The county was awarded almost 8.5 million dollars in legislative funding from the California Natural Resources Agency. The following year, departments temporarily moved out of the historic building. The Lassen County Courthouse dates back to 1917 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
