BATTLE MOUNTAIN - The conceptual design for the new county complex building is in the works, said Judge Max Bunch, who is helping along with Commissioner Brian Garner to get the project off the ground.
County engineer Steve Brigman, with Shaw Engineering, and the project architect Tony Smith, of Anthony Smith Architecture, interviewed county officials and department heads to get their input to proceed with a conceptual design.
Brigman is helping to coordinate the architectural design process. Bunch and Garner are currently working with Smith to refine the conceptual design, said Bunch. Bunch said they are also working with Judge Richard Wagner in the preliminary process.
The conceptual design will cover the inside and outside of the building, said Smith. The design may come before the commissioners sometime in October, said Lander County Executive Director Gene Etcheverry.
Bunch said they are looking into a one-story rectangular shaped building. Brigman described the conceptual design as a rectangular footprint with a c-shaped internal configuration and an enclosed plaza.
The square footage of the building, which will be located next to the jail and facing the highway, has not been decided on yet, said Bunch.
Money for the new building will come from a combination of court fees and county funds, said Finance Director Rogene Hill. The county has budgeted $10 million in the 2011-12 budget for the project, said Hill. A project cost estimate has not yet been nailed down.
It is not known yet how much longer the conceptual design will take or when the project might break ground. A timeline for the project has not yet been established.
The preliminary work for the county complex building began after Lander County commissioners at their April 14 meeting allocated $15,000 to Shaw Engineering to begin the conceptual design process.
The new facility will be combining four current buildings and will house a new justice and district court, administrative offices, offices for most of the elected officials and the county commission chamber as well as commission offices, said Etcheverry.
Etcheverry said the new building will save the county money in repair and upgrades because the buildings currently housing the courthouse and county offices are old and need continual maintenance.
"It's going to save a significant amount in facility maintenance, repair and operations costs and it will also provide for a streamlined method of doing business because our taxpayers will be able to come to one place to be able to interact with virtually every aspect of county government," said Etcheverry.
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