MANSFIELD — Another bid opening, another set of offers significantly lower than estimated.
That was the case Tuesday morning when the Richland County Board of Commissioners opened the five bids submitted for a project that will create a fourth Common Pleas courtroom inside the county administration building.
The work was designed and estimated at $750,000 by Brad Maurer of the Maurer Architectural Design Studio and Craig Christie with Karpinski Engineering
Four of the five bids opened were lower than the estimate.
— Emhoff Construction from Orrville offered to do the work for $551,373.
— Adena Corp. of Mansfield submitted a bid of $582,274.
— Stevens Construction from Marion offered a bid of $642,343.
— Scout Construction of Mansfield had a bid of $671,823.
— OPC Contracting Inc. from Lewis Center offered a bid of $794,000.
Emhoff Construction was also the apparent low bidder Oct. 24 when bids were opened for a proposed multiple-floor renovation of the Richland County Courthouse, all six of which came in lower than than $2.75 million estimate provided by its architect.
In that instance, the Emhoff bid was more than $1 million less than estimated for the work.
Both projects will largely be funded through a portion of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act, though commissioners will also need to dip into the county’s capital funds to complete the work.
Maurer and Christie will review bids and return to commissioners with a recommendation. The architect said Tuesday he was still reviewing bids opened last week on the multiple-floor renovation project.
In order to meet ARPA guidelines, money must be appropriated by the end of 2024 and all work completed by the end of 2026.
County administrator Andrew Keller said in September the courtroom project is estimated to take 150 days and the larger renovation that encompasses work on all five floors should take 240 days.
“We expect by the time both projects are complete, we’ll be into 2026,” Keller said.
Commissioners launch 2025 budget sessions
Commissioners began their public work Tuesday on the 2025 general fund budgeting process, meeting with Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher, Treasurer Bart Hamilton and leaders from the Child Support Enforcement Agency and the wastewater treatment department.
Each department submits a proposed budget to commissioners, who are the budgetary authority for the county. It’s not unusual for the three-member panel to trim millions off of total initial budget requests by the time the finalized spending plan is compete in December.
Commissioners declined to comment on specifics regarding budgets submitted thus far.
“We aren’t at that point yet,” Commissioner Tony Vero said, adding the board saves county Auditor Pat Dropsey for last in the budget meetings when expected 2025 revenues are discussed.
Commissioners have adopted a policy that the annual spending plan will not exceed projected revenue.
“We will, as always, pass a true balanced budget. We will hold steadfast to our budget policy that says we will pass a balanced budget, which excludes any unassigned cash balance,” Vero said.
Schumacher submitted a budget that asks for nearly 24 percent more than the prosecutor’s office received in 2024, citing needs for additional staffing to handle a growing workload, including increased appellate work and civil cases.
She also cited new technology that was creating additional work for her staff.
The prosecutor said she would like to add two additional attorneys and a paralegal to her staff.
Commissioners didn’t request specific reductions in the budget. They were complimentary of the work Schumacher’s office has done, but Commissioner Darrell Banks also expressed reservations before the prosecutor began her presentation.
“I am a little concerned with how high your budget is compared to what we had in mind,” Banks said. “I will give you a chance to defend it.”
A year ago, commissioners approved a 2024 general fund expense plan of $44.6 million, an increase of about $3 million over 2023 — roughly 6 percent.
The county ended 2023 with an $8.4 million surplus, deciding to:
— put another $4.3 million into the county’s capital expense fund, raising the account used for improvements to $12.7 million at the time.
— add $1.9 million to the county’s “rainy day” fund, which entered 2024 with a balance of $6.9 million.
— add $500,000 to the general fund carryover, raising it to $8.9 million going into the new year.
— pay $1 million toward the $18 million still owed in bond debt for the county jail.