By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
The new county court building will be constructed using the design-build method.
Randy McKnight, Nephi City administrator, said that the design-build method of project delivery in which one entity—the design/build team—works under a single contract with the project owner to provide design and construction services had been selected for construction of the building by the state and the county.
"The state and the county will select a team to oversee design and construction," said McKnight.
The concept allows a simpler method of construction with one entity, one contract, one unified flow of work from initial concept through completion.
Design-build is also known as design/construct and single-source responsibility.
"The state will oversee the design and construction," said McKnight.
General contractor teams will be interviewed, he said. In fact, some of those interviews have taken place and the field has been narrowed.
The State of Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM) advertised, earlier, that the intent was to hire a design/build team comprised of a general contractor supported by subcontractors and an A/E with supporting technical consultants to design and construct the new Juab County Fourth Judicial District Courthouse Administrative Office of the Courts in Nephi.
The estimated cost is $2,645,300.
The design/build is an alternative to design-bid-build. Under the latter approach, design and construction are split into separate entities, separate contracts, separate work.
Design-build streamlines project delivery through a single contract between the owner and the design/build team.
This simple but fundamental difference saves money and time by transforming the relationship between designers and builders into an alliance which fosters collaboration and teamwork.
McKnight said that he would continue to update the council on the progress of the building since the council had worked with the county commission to put together a property package, had re-zoned the area so construction could take place, and since the building was being constructed inside city limits.
Some differences would occur, said McKnight, in the way construction is usually inspected in the city. In this instance, it would be the Division which would conduct the needed building inspections.
"We will issue the building permit for the construction," said McKnight. "It will go through the site plan review as does all construction in the city."
However, all inspections would be done by the state.
"Though the building construction will be started soon," he said, "it is not likely that the building will be completed in this calendar year."
The DRCM had requested a completion date of December 10, 2013 but that was not a strict date. The schedule of completion will be evaluated and the shorter the design and construction duration to be feasible while maintaining safety and quality in conformance with the RFP is preferable.
Stop dates for the construction are to be realistic.
The design/build project will include the design and construction of the new Juab Fourth District Court building.
A bid bond in the amount of 5 percent of the proposal amount was necessary for all those seeking to bid on the project.
"Was the design going to allow for future expansion?" asked Mark Jones, mayor.
"That was the intention expressed in the early discussions," said McKnight, "but how that translates into the actual plan, I do not know."
The building will be approximately 6,000 to 9,000 square feet on one floor.
The property is the north half of the abandoned 100 East right-of-way between 100 North and 200 North.
