Pricetag for new Carroll County Sheriff’s Office increases by $9.6 million

Construction costs for the new Carroll County Sheriff’s Office headquarters have increased by $9.6 million, according to the county’s Department of Public Works.

At their meeting Thursday, the Board of Carroll County Commissioners were briefed on the costs and the 20-year history of the project.

The county originally allocated $30 million for construction, but the building is now estimated to cost $39.6 million. The current f capital budget, adopted by commissioners in May, includes additional funds for the new headquarters.

“The only way we’re going to get this thing built sufficiently for the sheriff’s needs was to ask for another $10 million,” Eric Burdine, deputy director of the county’s Department of Public Works said.

Bryan Bokey, director of the Department of Public Works, said the new building will be 42,500 square feet, and will cost $932 per square foot.

A date for the start of construction is being determined, Burdine said.

The COVID pandemic helped to drive up costs, Bokey said.

“There’s a million different studies out there about what happened from COVID and supply chains and employee shortages,” he told the commmissioners. “You can Google and see what has changed in the market in the last 20 years.”

Bokey said determining costs to build public safety facilities can be difficult, since many different things are needed, including office and lab space, storage, training facilities and special operations.

Dustin Construction has been hired to build the facility, which will be located in Westminster’s Greenwood Avenue complex, off Ralph Street. In 2022, commissioners unanimously approved a $2,562,300 contract with Manns Woodward Studios, of White Marsh, for architectural and civil engineering work.

The sheriff’s office operates out of several locations throughout the county. The new headquarters will consolidate operations in one building.

The first assessment for a new building was done in 2004, Bokey said. The county estimated that the new headquarters would be approximately 37,250 square feet.

“That’s about where we are today,” Bokey said. “The needs of the sheriff’s department here in Carroll County has always been pretty consistent.”

In 2012, the county estimated that it would cost about $11.4 million to build a 30,000-square-foot building, or $380 per square foot.

In 2019, a second needs assessment study was completed, which increased the size of the building to 42,500 square feet. In 2021, the county estimated that the building would cost $28.5 million.