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Company chosen for jail project

ESCANABA — The Delta County Board of Commissioners selected Miron Construction as the construction manager for the county’s ongoing jail project Tuesday.

The jail committee had initially planned to recommend one of their three finalists during the board’s March 7 meeting based on the finalists’ cost proposals. However, as one of the finalists had misinterpreted what the committee was asking for in part of their cost proposal, the committee was initially unable to make a direct comparison between the three companies.

“Once we did get to that apples-to-apples comparison, we had a unanimous recommendation to select Miron Construction from Neenah, Wis.,” said County Administrator Ryan Bergman. The other finalists were Lansing-based company Granger Construction and Iron Mountain-based company Gundlach-Champion.

Miron Construction’s estimated costs on the jail project included a construction manager fee of $488,250 and total costs (including reimbursable expenses) of $944,600. Granger Construction’s estimated construction manager fee was $434,000 and estimated total costs were $1,091,748; Gundlach-Champion’s estimated construction manager fee was $382,000 and estimated total costs were $1,138,961.

Bergman said Miron Construction has had significant experience with modern jail projects. They have also been involved with several construction projects in the Upper Peninsula.

As the construction manager for the jail project, Miron Construction will be responsible for planning, scheduling, logistics, subcontracting, and safety regulations for construction on the jail. In addition, they will guarantee a maximum price for the jail’s construction.

“If they want to do any of the actual construction, they have to bid on it just like every other company,” Bergman said.

A contract between the county and Miron Construction will be voted on at a future board meeting.

The board also addressed two other agenda items related to the jail project. One was a budget amendment allowing the county to temporarily borrow money for the project from its residual equity fund, which was approved.

Bergman said this amendment will allow the county to pay for costs associated with the jail project while attempting to secure funding from USDA Rural Development.

“This is just to actually set up that account so that we can borrow from ourselves,” he said.

As part of the motion, the board authorized the appropriation of $1 million for the jail project from the residual equity fund.

The board also authorized the final ratification of a contract with Kalamazoo-based firm Byce and Associates for architectural and engineering services. This contract had already been substantially approved by the board during its previous meeting, but some minor contract details had been settled since then.

In other business, the board:

– heard from Delta County Airport Manager Kelly Smith about the proposed elimination of federal funding for the Essential Air Service program. This program ensures regularly-scheduled commercial air service to several rural communities, including Escanaba.

– approved a formal recognition process for lifesavers in the community.

– tentatively approved a resolution to follow the terms and conditions associated with the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board grant agreement for its acquisition of 1,400 acres of land in Cornell Township.

– voted to offer the appraised value for a 16-acre parcel of land adjacent to Fuller Park. A recent appraisal of the property found it to be worth $23,000.

– approved a shared services agreement with the city of Escanaba, allowing Delta County Equalization Director Juli Kolbe to serve as Escanaba’s assessor.

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