In the summer of 1995, I worked a three month internship at The Warroad Pioneer, which I'm sorry to say has since ceased operation. This was the first professional newspaper that I worked for in my career, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience. I had only worked at Bemidji State University's newspaper for about a year and half before landing the internship. At The Pioneer I gained experience in sports, feature, beat and government reporting. I designed pages, took and developed photographs and was responsible for community relations. The best part is that I remain friends with the owners nearly 30 years later.
June 20, 1995
By Devlyn Brooks
After a delay of two days due to a federal summons filed by the Taxpayer's Choice Volunteer Committee, the Roseau County Board of Commissioners approved the courthouse bids that were received June 8.
At the regularly scheduled Wednesday, June 14, meeting, any decision by the Board to award bids was halted by the summons presented by TCVC. The commissioners voted to reconvene on Friday, June 16, after they knew more about the situation.
On Thursday, June 15, TCVC appeared in front of a federal court to ask for an injunction on the proceedings of awarding bids to contractors for the new Roseau County Courthouse. The judge denied the request.
"In so many words, he (the judge) didn't think the lawsuit had any merit," Roseau County Attorney Michelle Moren told the Board Friday.
At the reconvened meeting Friday, Moren advised the Board to "proceed with business as usual."
The County Commissioners did just that, passing motions that awarded the bids on the new courthouse.
The mechanical construction bid went to Grant's Mechanical of Fargo, North Dakota. They bid the project at $349,800.
The electrical construction bid was awarded to E & L Electric of Warroad, Minnesota, who bid the project at $261,000.
The sprinkler system will be installed by Brothers Fire Protection Co. of Roseville, Minnesota for $53,431.
Kraus-Anderson of Bemidji, Minnesota, was awarded the general construction bid for $2,027,000.
The Board was aided in its decision to award the bids in part by the Building Committee who concurred with the architect's recommendation to award the bids.
"Soft costs" bring total price tag to +$3 million
At the Wednesday, June 11, Roseau County Board of Commissioners meeting, the commissioners found out just what the total for the construction of the new courthouse would be.
The Building Committee presented the commissioners with a list of soft costs totaling $325,406.75. The soft costs did not have to be considered in the construction cap placed by the commissioners in December.
Added to the construction costs, the total project is estimated to cost $3,016,737.75.
A site survey that cost $2,609, a soil test that cost $2,323.65 and a parking lot soil test that cost $1,375.10 have all been paid for at this time. The architect estimated that another $2,000 should be planned for testing during the actual construction.
The architect also estimated that about $8,000 will be needed for the administration of the project. These are costs such as building inspection.
The installation of the new vertical blinds for the courthouse will cost $5,000. This is for an estimated 48 windows.
The phone system will cost $14,750. This includes cabling for computers. Commissioner Dick Johnson said that the Building Committee plans on using existing phones in the current courthouse wherever possible in the new courthouse.
According to Commissioner Orris Rasmussen, military surplus shelving has been located for the new courthouse. the cost of $1,000 is mostly for the transportation from the Twin Cities.
The total in architect's fees will be $175,000, which is figured by taking 6.5 percent of the construction cost. The architect has been paid $154,9784.75 because, as explained by Rasmussen, most of the architect's work is completed by now.
Builder's risk insurance is estimated to cost $5,500, and this is based on the construction costs of the building.
A $200 cost will occur from the saving of 10 trees that would be ruined from construction.
There was no cost estimated for furniture and fixtures because the existing office furniture in the old building will be moved to the new courthouse.
"Basically, we are going to take everything humanly possible out of this building (old courthouse)," Johnson said.
Finally, the architect recommended that there be a $107,649 contingency reserve. This dollar amount is reached by taking 4 percent of the construction costs.
The Building Committee warned the commissioners that the amounts are estimated for budgeting purposes and are subject to change and modifications.
Comments