Reno County commissioners weigh $1.9 million Health Department remodel against finding a new building

Reno County commissioners confronted a roughly $1.9 million estimate to remodel the Health Department at a study session Wednesday, Aug. 26, and agreed to keep evaluating other locations before a contract decision Wednesday, Sept. 9. Facilities Director Kyle Stewart said the rough-order estimate — a preliminary figure developed before design is finished — was substantially more than originally anticipated. Commissioners took no formal action in the study session, instead reaching consensus for staff to bring the ICON Structures agreement back to that meeting for consideration. Citizen Journal reported Aug. 25 that the remodel had been pegged at $2.1 million to $2.7 million; the material from the session does not say whether the scope changed between the two figures.

Problems with the sanitary sewer system, electrical service and HVAC ductwork account for more than $800,000 of the estimated project cost, Stewart said. Karen Hammersmith, assistant director of clinical services, and Megan Gottschalk, assistant director of community health operations, described recurring sewer and HVAC problems and deteriorating windows at the building, and said the department needs to stay in an area accessible to the residents it serves.

Commissioners and staff weighed renovating the existing building in phases against finding another location — one large enough to hold the Health Department along with other county functions that may need space in the future, including Emergency Management and Information Technology. The county had previously selected Landmark Architects as architect and Icon Structures as contractor through the construction manager at risk process, in which the builder is hired before design is complete to help control cost. The material does not say how a remodel or a move to another building would be paid for.

At the start of the 2027 budget discussion, the proposed budget reflected a mill levy of 39.486, compared with the current 37.8 mills and a revenue-neutral rate of 35.704 mills — the rate that would raise the same amount of property tax money as the current year under new valuations. County Administrator Randy Partington estimated about $3.09 million in additional reductions would be needed to reach the revenue-neutral rate and about $1.3 million to hold the levy flat. He said departments that evaluated the reductions required to reach revenue neutral indicated personnel cuts would be necessary. By the end of the session, Partington estimated commissioners had identified roughly $1 million in potential reductions, with more still needed for a flat levy.

After discussing employee pay increases ranging from 2.5% to 4.5%, commissioners reached consensus to use a 3% increase in the next round of budget calculations, direction to staff rather than an approved raise. They also reviewed possible reductions to outside agency funding — approving none of the individual cuts — along with delaying some vehicle replacements and reducing the cushion budgeted in the Special Bridge Fund. Partington put the General Fund cash balance at about $4 million, roughly one month of General Fund expenses.

Budget work continues Sept. 9, when commissioners must also hold the required revenue-neutral rate public hearing and consider whether the county will exceed that rate.

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