By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
Sullivan County Facilities and Operations Director Mary Bourque recently updated the county commissioners on the Sullivan County Health Care Renovation Project, saying “we’re getting work done out there.”
“Not a lot of highs and lows, which is one of those ‘no news is good news,’” she told the board during their meeting on Monday. “We’re continuing to work on the interiors of the building, as well as the building services, and the exterior siding is wrapping up here, too.”
One of the big updates here was that the county put out an RFP for furniture procurement. As part of the air emissions inspection, the Department of Environmental Services (DES) also inspected two new generators to make sure they’re in compliance as part of the construction permit.
Governor and Executive Council also approved the extension of the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR) project through the summer of 2026 to complete the entire project.
“What that does is it allows us ‘til the summer of 2026 to have the full spending of our total match, so the total project budget,” she said. “So, we’ll continue to draw down their money through this fall, and after that we’ll continue to make that match.”
The next Governor and Executive Council meeting is Aug. 30 and County Manager Derek Ferland said he checked and additional GOFERR funding should be discussed.
Upcoming milestones include that in September they are looking to energize permanent power. Doors and hardware are starting on the fourth floor, and parking is being worked on outside, Bourque said.
“We’re looking at the fourth floor to be substantially complete, sort of the third week of October,” she said. “So beyond after that, we have to get everything up and running. It looks done for a little bit. If you think about each floor below that, it’s about three weeks behind the others. It takes us down through the rest of the building. So, a lot going on.”
Bourque noted potential impacts, which included issues around reporting requirements for wage classes for labor reporting. GOFERR asked for a letter stating what trades were compliant and how it was being approached.
She said they were running behind on exterior siding, but it is now back on track. There were also concerns about materials that came in for wall protection, as they received the wrong materials, but this has since been straightened out.
“Needless to say, wall protection is being installed and it’s coming out really nice, and we’re really happy with it,” Bourque said.
To date, just under $37 million has been spent on the project. About 51% is coming from GOFERR, so once they are done spending that money, this percentage will start to go down.
Bourque showed photos of flooring being put down, light fixtures installed on the fourth floor, and the progress of the house wall production. This included tile and flooring on the tub room, and timber installed in the freight room. Equipment is also being set up for permanent power.
The Sullivan County Commissioners will meet again on Sept. 9 at 3 p.m. in the Commissioners Conference Room in the County Administration Building.
