Contractors take pre-bid tour of county building

Bidders from eight firms inspect county building.

Eight contractors took to the top of the county-owned building which last housed Greg’s Electric at Main and Island streets in Colfax Monday to inspect the roof. The inspection followed a call for bids on replacing the roof.

Bob Reynolds, Whitman County facilities manager, said the roof has leaked for years, and the repairs are necessary for a future remodeling of the building to house the county’s elections office.

The county will open bids for the new roof next Monday. Estimated cost of the project is $150,000.

After years of addressing and counting ballots in the county vault, the elections department now processes ballots in the kitchen area of the Public Service Building.

Greg Harazin, proprietor of Greg’s Electric, moved his business to the former Powell Plumbing building at Main and Canyon at the start of the year. He had been located in the county building for approximately two years.

Since then the county has used the Main and Island building for storage. The county Emergency Management Department has also been using the building as a work shop.

Prior to Harazin’s occupancy, the building was rented by Harrison Electric which relocated to former county shop buildings on Sumner Street.

The county is expecting to use grant funding from the federal Help America Vote Act to remodel the interior of the building for the elections department.

The roof project will be funded out of Real Estate Excise Tax proceeds which the county can only spend on infrastructure projects.

Plans are also in the works to put a new roof on the county jail. Estimated price tag for that project is $45,000.