The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is prioritizing which building maintenance projects will be pursued in the next few years due to their cost. Speaking to colleagues last week, Commissioner Jim Curran said the Administration Committee has been briefed by Bacciocchi Construction Services, a firm hired by the board to help manage capital projects. The company took a look at the county’s wish list and divided the items into categories.
“There’s five categories,” Curran said. “Number one is life and safety. If there’s a condition that falls under the life and safety issue, it’s listed as number one. Number two is any code violation or any law violation. Number three is deferred maintenance. It’s those items that have been deferred for years and now have gotten to the top of the list where we have to deal with them.”
Four is operational changes, and five is the employee experience. Curran said due to rising costs, the county has been advised to focus on categories one through three. As time goes on, it could get caught up on the rest. The county’s maintenance project lists totals about $18.4 million, while only about $15.8 has been budgeted. Curran said the full board will get a presentation from Bacchiocchi at a night meeting on May 4 in New Buffalo after more talks between the committee and County Administrator Brian Dissette.
