CBS Squared selected as architect for new county highway facility
Mar. 3—EAU CLAIRE — CBS Squared Inc. will handle architectural and engineering aspects of the new Eau Claire County Highway Department facility.
The firm, based in Chippewa Falls, will be responsible for designing the eight-figure project likely beginning later this month. CBS Squared estimates that design of the project will cost $731,300.
During its meeting Wednesday, the Eau Claire County Highway Building Committee unanimously approved CBS Squared to oversee the design process of the facility that will be built on the south side of Eau Claire near U.S. 53 and Highway I.
Greg Bowe, county purchasing manager, told the committee that he spoke with transportation and highway managers in St. Croix, Sheboygan and Barron counties who worked with CBS Squared in the past and all "gave very glowing recommendations" of the firm.
The county received 13 architectural and engineering applicants and narrowed them down to two finalists: CBS Squared and Barrientos Design & Consulting, which is based in Milwaukee.
The firms were evaluated based on six factors: company profile/capability, experience, and qualifications of the firm; experience and qualifications of assigned staff; proposed services/project vision; familiarity with Eau Claire County and the Chippewa Valley region; proposed timeline; and interview/presentation.
CBS Squared had an evaluation score of 136.2, while Barrientos had a score of 128.5 and an estimated design cost of $997,800.
The selection of CBS Squared comes a month after the Highway Building Committee approved Market & Johnson to handle construction management for the new facility.
The committee received preliminary information Wednesday on the project schedule. Notable dates include project design starting March 22 and finishing Feb. 11, 2022, and project construction starting Oct. 4, 2021, and finishing Oct. 24, 2022. The county has planned for design and construction to occur consecutively instead of in separate phases.
Matt Theisen, county facilities director, emphasized that those dates are not final. He said the actual proposed schedule will be set after project leaders meet with CBS Squared and Market & Johnson.
The committee also approved a motion allowing project managers to approve all change orders of $100,000 or less. Theisen is the project manager and Eau Claire County Highway Commissioner Jon Johnson is the assistant manager. Any change order, which is an unexpected cost or savings, exceeding $100,000 will require committee approval.
The new facility is expected to bring all county highway vehicles and equipment under one roof and provide additional climate-controlled storage. Construction of the facility will cost an estimated $24 million. All county highway operations are estimated to be fully moved into the new facility by May 2023.
The facility is also slated to include a kitchen for the county's Meals on Wheels program, which is part of the Aging and Disability Resource Center and currently uses a kitchen in Fall Creek.
"We're very much in support of being a part of the highway facility," said ADRC Director Linda Struck during Wednesday's meeting.
The next Highway Building Committee meeting is scheduled for April 7.
