ASHLAND — Bids for a 700 square-foot addition to the Ashland County Sheriff Office’s annex surprised officials Thursday — and not in a good way.
Ashland County commissioners received two bids for a project aimed at adding bathrooms and a kitchen to the annex.
When the bids came back around 50% higher than the $350,000 estimate, commissioner Denny Bittle said “we’ll have to take a look.”
But state law requires counties and other political subdivisions to “reject bids that exceed 20% of the estimated contract amount,” according to a law that went into effect Oct. 23.
Adena Corporation bid the project at $603,111 while Huffman Construction priced it at $565,364.
The county’s maintenance supervisor, Dennis Harris, said the project includes the addition of a men’s and women’s bathroom and a foyer. The addition would match existing stone masonry and it would not require the removal of a tree and memorial located to the north of the existing annex building.
Harris said it would also include security locks, a sprinkler system and a fire-alarm system. In addition, it would include reconfiguring the existing sidewalk.
A spokesman with Adena said the project’s most expensive line items included masonry and the reconfiguration of the sidewalk.
The project’s size is around 700 square-feet and Harris said the county hopes to complete the construction by August.
It’s unclear if county commissioners will revise the existing project or go out for another bid.
Officials have said the need for the project revolves around security issues at the current annex. The annex, built to host law enforcement trainings and community meetings, is getting used more and more often, Harris said.