Displaying items by tag: Chad Cooke
Saratoga County Safety Building Update
Photo provided.
BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County is expecting to accept bids on the $32 million public safety building in late June.
According to Deputy Commissioner Thomas Speziale, bid documents for five prime contracts are expected to be released for public bid soon. The building is still in final design.
The facility will be located adjacent to the Sheriff's Department/County Correctional Facility at 6010 County Farm Road in Ballston Spa and is approximately 62,000 square-feet.
According to Deputy County Administrator Chad Cooke, the prospect of a new public safety building to bring together many of the County’s departments due to space limitations was conceived over 10 years ago. The County’s limited space at that time has been stretched even thinner over the last decade as the County’s population has grown and, with it, additional services and growth of the County’s workforce.
The original project progressed through preliminary engineering but was eventually shelved due to growing financial obligations, at that time, to maintain the County’s nursing home, Maplewood Manor, which has since been sold.
Departments that are expected to occupy the new facility include the Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department, Public Health Services, Emergency Services, Dispatch/Communications and shared space.
The County has budgeted $32 million for the proposed project and it is considered budget neutral. The County had debt service that expired in 2017 for a previously completed capital project, which totaled $1.9 million in yearly expenses. It is anticipated that debt service for the new facility will be approximately $1.6 million per year.
Marissa Gonzalez was a contributing writer to this story.
