January 9, 2025
By: Katherine Trowbridge
The Franklin County Commissioners approved Resolution 2024-0338 two to one accepting the agreement between Franklin County Public Works and M&H Construction to build a new morgue for the county. The vote came in the final commissioner meeting of the year, held on Dec. 31.
Coroner Curtis McGary stated that, “The building gives the people of the county a building that will serve them for decades with little cost to the taxpayers.”
McGary expressed that while the bids came in higher than anticipated, the courthouse expansion fund could cover the extra $290,000. Prosecutor Shawn Sant agreed that by moving the coroner's office out of the courthouse, “it fits well with using funds from the courthouse expansion.”
The initial funding for the project through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds was approved back in March by the commissioners. Since that time, the county has worked with Meier Architects to draw up plans for the building. Bids were opened in mid December with the bid being awarded to M&H Construction. While the bids came in higher than initially planned, it appeared that it would save the county money in the long run by proceeding with the project at this time.
However, Interim County Manager, Eric Johnson, who was not in attendance at the meeting, left a memo that basically presented a second option for the funds already allocated to this project. Johnson suggested re-allocating the ARPA funds to cover the 911 system.
Commissioner Stephen Bauman expressed that he initially had concerns regarding the costs for this building. He shared that the Recovery Center, which is a remodel, is around $764/square foot. While the Coroner building, a new build, comes in at $545/square foot. Bauman added, “It is the cost of the market today.”
One thing that was mentioned by McGary was that the building, once built, could be leased out, generating income for the county. Sant stated, “This is a great opportunity because of the potential lease option.” Sant referred to it as a “loan” because the lease would reimburse the funds. Commissioner Rocky Mullen agreed with this concept of paying the money back.
While Commissioner Didier was taken aback by the numbers as well as struck by the new idea Johnson presented. Didier stated, “We’re in a crunch with these emergency radios. We don’t know the economic future.” He went on to speak about the county’s deficit. “Everything is too expensive right now. We can’t just keep going back to the well and asking taxpayers to pay more taxes.”
McGary stated the county would be “wise to do this now” sharing that while Benton County has been obliging, they are also at capacity and that funeral homes are no longer an option. Sant added that he has had to travel to Snohomish at times and it is hard to send families who’ve gone through a tragedy to another county like Spokane or Snohomish.
Sant stated of the project, “Long term, this would be a good investment” as it will not only solve issues within the coroner’s office but also with the spacing needs at the courthouse.
The commissioners had two options before them - proceed with approval of a resolution accepting the contract with M&H construction or changing their decision and re-allocating the ARPA funds from the morgue building to the 911 emergency communications radio system.
Bauman moved to approve Resolution 2024-0338 as presented with Mullen seconding. In discussion Bauman added, “We undertook action back in March and we need to follow through with it. We understand things are more expensive now than anticipated.”
Before calling the vote, Didier expressed his concerns over the added costs stating there could be contingencies and change orders that would raise costs even higher.
The vote was approved two to one with Didier opposed.
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