After the Lewis County commissioners approved the project’s track in November, bids are in for a new sheriff’s office substation on the east end of the county on U.S. Highway 12 near Randle.
If a contract is approved in the coming weeks, the construction of the new “east county substation,” as it has been referred to by Sheriff Rob Snaza, will likely be awarded to Midway Underground.
The Toledo construction company’s base-bid was $92,000, less than half of the county’s original $200,000 budget for the building. After additional costs, the total bid was estimated at $113,600.
Including the building, septic, paving and more, the county’s total budget for the project is $750,000, according to Steve Wohld, chief of internal services.
The substation will be built at 8901 U.S. Highway 12, between Glenoma and Randle, on property already owned by the county on Kiona Road.
According to a November news release, the plan is to construct a 36-by-48 foot office and three- or four-door vehicle storage facility.
Four other bids came in for the project and ranged between $169,000 and $305,000.
When Doug Carey, capital facilities manager for Lewis County, announced the base bid from Midway Underground of $92,000, Commissioner Scott Brummer asked, “Why does that make me uncomfortable?”
Carey said he was similarly nervous at first, but reassured Brummer he had several calls with the company and ventured it was possible they already had some of the parts complete due to surplus from previous work. Josh Metcalf, director of public works, said he’d done contracts with Midway Underground before and while that low number also brought up questions for him, he called them a “good contractor.”
Snaza previously told The Chronicle a new shop on the east end would allow the office to house boats and trucks necessary for flood rescues on the east end while giving residents access to services they currently have to drive to Chehalis to receive.
He added it will have a kitchenette, bathroom, space for staff to sleep and a large office space.
“Now they can go there instead of driving all the way to Chehalis,” Snaza said in November. “Starting out, (we’ll open it) two days a week and if we find out it’s really busy, then we will think about staffing it full-time. … We’re really looking forward to it, I just wish it would have happened sooner.”
The substation became a hot topic during the election season — perhaps spurring movement on the project — as Snaza was challenged by Tracy Murphy, a detective sergeant for the Centralia Police Department, who argued the substation should be fitted with jail cells, animal sheltering and more.
