Work on Routt County’s new Health and Human Services building has encountered some design issues that may tweak how the building’s main entrance will look.

Commissioner Tim Corrigan said crews encountered some problems bringing together architectural and structural designs with things not entirely meshing and requiring a minor redesign.

“From day one, we were committed to building a good looking building that the community can be proud of,” Corrigan said. “I think we have pretty well worked through (the design issues).”

The issues are with the canopies over the main entrance and on the side of the building. Architectural designs have overhangs floating above these entrances, but more detailed structural designs used to order steel for the project exposed the issue.

“The simplest solution was to add some columns out in front,” Corrigan said. “I was able to see some of the revised elevations of what the building would look like, and in my view, it’s a pretty minor alteration.”

The county broke ground on the new home of its Human Services and Public Health departments in October, and the building is slated to finish in early 2023.

Corrigan said while design issues have led to minor delays, there should be enough wiggle room in the timeline that the project still completes on time.

How the design changes will affect the cost of the building isn’t known at this point. Corrigan said it could result in the building costing more, but it also might simplify the design, potentially lowering the cost.

“Could it add a little bit? Yeah,” Corrigan said. “But I think it’s well within what we could be anticipating within our contingency.”

Corrigan, a former contractor, said it isn’t uncommon for issues like this to pop up on a project, and that’s why they have a contingency. Still, not every issue like this will lead to cost increases.

Corrigan also said landscaping quotes have come in less than expected, which will lead to significant savings. So far, there have been changes on the project saving the county about $100,000.

“At this point, I’m hopeful that these change orders will wash out,” he said.

The overall building cost has significantly increased since the end of 2020, largely due to increases in raw materials like steel.

This has taken to project’s price tag to more than $14 million, but the county has budgeted to pay for construction this year without bonding. At the end of 2020, the cost was estimated at about $10 million.

While there has not been much visible change to site at the corner of Sixth and Oak streets in Downtown Steamboat in recent weeks, Corrigan said a vast majority of the concrete is slated to be poured next week.