News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Contractors go over design plans while working at the site where the new Alpena County Sheriff’s Office and jail will be built on M-32. The project has had its shares of ups and downs, but appears to be within budget and only about two weeks behind schedule.

ALPENA — The process that led to the construction of what officials said is a badly needed new Alpena County Jail has been a mixed bag of successes, snafus, and unexpected costs.

The new jail was made possible through a 1-mill, 20-year property tax voters approved by a 55%-45% margin in November 2017. The tax costs the owner of a $100,000 house about $50 a year.

Before that vote, a lot of work went into the project, and many promises were made, some of which have been kept and others not, for many reasons.

A cost estimate error forced about $3 million in cuts to the jail design, reducing the size and capacity of the jail, as well as what the finished product will look like. More recently, delayed steel and unexpected water costs have further hampered the project, meaning dirt has only recently begun to move on the site of the new jail on county-owned property on M-32 in Wilson Township.

Alpena County Commissioner John Kozlowski said he was in favor of the new jail, but is alarmed by how the process has played out.

“I know there were mistakes made, and we made one by not holding these people accountable for theirs,” Kozlowski said. “As commissioners, it is our responsibility to hold people accountable. Because, if we don’t, who will?”

Still, those who serve on the committee overseeing the project say it will be completed on time and within budget, despite the setbacks. And, at least for the time being, getting the jail built takes precedence over laying blame, officials said.

A COSTLY MISTAKE

Alpena County Sheriff Steve Kieliszewski said a new jail was needed well before the current project began. He said the layout of the current jail doesn’t allow staff to work as efficiently as it could. It’s also structurally failing and doesn’t meet some Michigan Department of Corrections standards. The state has cited the county in the past for not being able to separate inmates according to their threat level and for conditions of the building.

A special committee was formed in 2016 and months of meetings took place to get a viable plan for the new jail crafted, as well as a strategy for educating voters before Election Day. Members of the committee also traveled to tour new jails in other communities in Michigan and other states.

As many as 40 people served on the committee tasked with deciding whether to renovate the existing jail or build a new one and deciding where a new one might be built.

“It was the committee who decided in the end a new jail was needed,” Kieliszewski said.

The committee knew that, in order to sell the idea of a new jail to voters, not only did they need to make them realize how poor the condition of the current jail is, they also needed a preliminary plan, with a visual for residents to see.

Tours were held at the current jail and the Alpena-based Oak City Contracting was hired to consult the county in the early stages. Kieliszewski said Oak City was told all along it would not be considered for the construction portion of the project.

Oak City hired an architect firm, the Kalamazoo based Eckert Wordell, to draw up a design plan with a mock photo of what the jail would look like.

Somewhere in that process, a costly mistake was made that not only delayed the project but also forced major design changes.

Kieliszewski said about 15,000 square feet of the design wasn’t taken into account when initial cost estimates were set. When the missing square footage was factored in, the cost climbed to about $3 million more than the $11.4 that was budgeted.

To get back within budget, the 108 beds originally planned was reduced to 94, and the overall square footage reduced from 36,000 to about 30,000.

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?

Kozlowski, the county commissioner, said he is unsure who is liable for the unaccounted-for square footage.

He said that, technically, Eckert Wordell was contracted by Oak City, which is no longer in business. The county might be unable to take legal action against the architectural firm because the county did not contract directly with Eckert Wordell, he said.

Eckert Wordell Principal Donna Van Natter said her company was hired to do the conceptual design and used information sent by Oak City and another county consultant, Rod Miller, of Community Resource Services.

She said Eckert Wordell never put a cost estimate together.

“We used the data provided to us, and Oak City was doing the cost estimate based on our design,” she said. “We have not been involved in the project since that point, and have no comment regarding the current status of the project, because we know nothing else about it.”

Calls were made to several different numbers once attached to former Oak City owner Dustin Crittenden, but each number was no longer in service. The News was unable to reach to Crittenden or Miller for comment on this story.

MORE HURDLES, MORE COST

Trimming the square footage and the number of beds brought the scope of the project back within budget, but then other hurdles came up that forced the county to use money from the project’s contingency fund.

In July, the county was notified the grade at the site needed to be raised to prevent standing water around the jail. That was $32,000 that wasn’t budgeted.

Earlier this year, the project was pushed back about 30 days when the company hired to build the prefabricated steel shell of the building was slow to send its design plans to the project’s construction management company, the Lansing-based Granger Construction. The plans arrived from Metallic Building Co. in the middle of August and, since that time, the project is only about a week or so behind schedule.

Last month, officials learned of another potentially costly snafu.

Officials learned the installation of a trio of tap-in points to Alpena Township’s water main would cost significantly more than anticipated. Kieliszewski, the sheriff, said officials initially budgeted about $800 for the tap-ins, but contractors were working with outdated information.

The actual cost is $15,000 each, after the township in April raised its tap-in rates for the first time in 40 years, a move missed by the design team.

Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said the county’s contractors hadn’t shared their plan with the township or communicated with township officials about the potential costs.

County and township officials planned to discuss the price, while county officials also explore the possibility of changing the design so fewer tap-ins are needed.

‘DOWN THE ROAD, WE CAN TALK’

Alpena County Commissioner Brad McRoberts said the county, Kieliszewski, and Granger officials are doing everything to build the best jail they can with the money they have.

He said finger-pointing and possible legal action can be considered later, but, for now, a jail needs to be built, and it appears officials are finally on their way to the finish line.

“I’m not saying there won’t be more problems, but, right now, I don’t see any on the horizon,” McRoberts said. “We busted our butt to get this building built within budget. Down the road, we can talk about who did what wrong and who needs to be held accountable.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.