An old building that used to house a portion of the Hall County Jail will be torn down to make space for an addition to the Hall County Courthouse. The old jail building is just south of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services building at 106 S. Pine St. that will also be torn down, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND — The Hall County Board of Commissioners has received approval from the Nebraska Supreme Court to proceed with plans for an addition to the Hall County Courthouse.
Architects from Davis Design of Lincoln informed the commissioners about the approval at the board’s Jan. 30 meeting. Architects Steve Severson and Darin Horst from Davis Design were present at Tuesday’s meeting.
The architects said they plan soon to meet with county judges to get their input on the project.
The project would be done in two phases. First, the addition to the courthouse would be completed. Second, the Courthouse would be remodeled.
Commissioner Ron Peterson noted that demolition of two buildings and “vacation” of Pine Street east of the courthouse would need to occur. The two buildings that would be demolished are an old section of the former Hall County Jail that is located northeast of the Hall County Annex building. The second building that would be demolished is a building just east of the Courthouse that houses offices for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
A possibility is to move the Department of Health and Human Services offices into the Federal Building that the county owns at Second and Locust streets. A concern about that site is having adequate parking for staff and people who visit the building. Commissioner Karen Bredthauer said that the Department of Health and Human Services is looking at other possible sites for offices. Commissioners are going to give notice to the Department of Health and Human Services about the plan to demolish the current office building and the need to relocate their offices.
The architects and commissioners then discussed two possible approaches to the project. The first would be to hire a construction manager.
The second would be a design/bid/build concept that would be a lower cost.
The architects gave commissioners two pages with diagrams about a timeline for the Courthouse addition. The first document was titled “Hall County Courthouse Schedule: CM (Construction Manager) at Risk.“ The second document was titled “Hall County Courthouse
Schedule: Design/Bid/Build.”
In the Construction Manager document, the following timeline was presented:
*January to May 2024: Schematic design.
*May to September 2024: Design development.
*September 2024 to April 2025: Construction documents.
*Groundbreaking Ceremony: Approximately April 2025.
*Final Bidding: March 1-April 1, 2025.
*Project Construction (24 to 30 months): Phase 1, New Addition, December 2025 to April 2026. Phase 2: Remodel of Courthouse: April 2026 to April 2027.
*Project completion would be in approximately April 2027.
In the document titled “Design/Bid/Build, the following steps would occur:
*January to May 2024: Schematic design.
*May to September 2024: Design development.
*September 2024 to February 2025: Construction documents.
*March 1, 2025 to April 1, 2025: Bidding.
*April 1, 2025-May 15, 2025: Mobilization contracts and permits.
*May 2025: Groundbreaking.
*May 2025 to August 2026: Phase 1, construction on addition.
*August 2026-August 2027: Phase 2, 3, or 4, remodel courthouse.
*2 possible times for move in: Option 1: move into new addition; Option 2: move into remodeled courthouse.
*September 2027: Project completion.
In other business, the Board:
*Approved applying for a Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative grant by a 7-0 vote.
*Heard County Facilities Director Loren “Doon” Humphrey say that he has not received bids for secure storage cages to store county documents.
*Approved hiring Oak Creek Engineering firm for an interlocal agreement with Adams County for Barrows Road resurfacing by a 7-0 vote.
*Approved authorizing the Board Chairman to sign an interlocal agreement with Adams County for the Barrows Road resurfacing project.
*Discussed that people cannot enter the Hall County Administration Building through the locked west door. There is a sign at the start of the ramp entrance to the west entrance notifying people that they need to enter the building through the east entrance. Hall County Sheriff’s deputies provide security at the east entrance. The building would be more secure by just having one entrance with deputies stationed at the east entrance.
*Approved an agreement with Allo phone services by a 7-0 vote.
*Interviewed Chad Gideon of Wood River for a position on the Hall County Weed Board. Supervisors voted 7-0 to approve having Gideon in the position.
*Voted 7-0 to approve the public defender salary that would be $122,000 (2025), $125,660 (2026), $129,429 (2027), and $133,312 (2028).
