County commission approves contemporary design for new Boys and Girls Club; June groundbreaking could incur higher cost

Fabrizio Gowdy Gadsden County News Service

On Jan. 20, the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved designs for the county’s new Boys and Girls Club. It hopes to break ground by June, although that accelerated timeline could come at a higher cost.

Bret Hammond of the Tallahassee-based Hammond Design Group, the architect tasked with designing the new Boys and Girls Club, presented the board with floor plans and renderings for two design options. Option one was a simple rectilinear design, while option two featured a central receiving area and a wing branching off each side.

For both options, the building would measure 6,000 square feet and be located on the Ward’s Lot property in Quincy. The Gadsden County School Board voted to hand over total control of the Ward’s Lot property to the BOCC. According to Interim County Attorney Louis J Baptiste, the BOCC will control the property as long as it uses it for recreational purposes.

The exterior would be a contemporary design based on community input. The designs took inspiration from the Boys and Girls Club in Quitman, Ga.

Hammond told commissioners to think of the new facility as a complex, starting small and building out in the future. While there are not yet enough funds to build a gymnasium, he said one could eventually be constructed on the property.

Hammond insisted he needed a decision from the board the night of the meeting, because he planned to meet with consultants in his office the next morning to meet the “compressed timeline” the county is trying to achieve. The plan is to have all construction documents completed by mid to late March, award a contractor in April, and break ground by late June

“It’s an aggressive schedule, I think we can do that. It may mean overtime for people, but I believe we can hit the March deadline.

The accelerated timeline could increase the cost however. Hammond explained that consultants and others working on the project will likely charge more for speeding up the timeline.

I don’t anticipate them coming back and saying they want exorbitant fees, but I do expect them to ask for a higher premium to put it ahead of other projects they currently have on their boards or ask their people to work Saturdays and Sundays,” said Hammond.

The board voted unanimously to adopt design option two at the recommendation of Hammond and the design committee.

In other business, the board voted unanimously to table a $300,000 proposal to build restrooms at Robertsville, St. John, Sawdust, St. Hebron, and Scott Town Community Parks at a cost of $60,000 per restroom.

Commissioner Brenda Holt raised concern over the cost of the project, which she alleged was far too high given the small size of the restrooms. In response, Roosevelt Morris of the county building department said the cost should be lower when it came before commissioners at the next meeting.

The next BOCC meeting will be held Feb. 3 at 6 p.m.

County commission approves contemporary design for new Boys and Girls Club; June groundbreaking could incur higher cost

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County commission approves contemporary design for new Boys and Girls Club; June groundbreaking could incur higher cost