With the initial estimate for a new family justice center running about double the budget for it, Tulsa County is taking a mulligan.
County commissioners are soliciting a hard bid for the project.
"Which means that whatever bid we get in terms of lowest and best bid on the date, we select that builder and going forward, and the price cannot escalate beyond that day," said County Commissioner Ron Peters.
In September, Manhattan Construction was hired to oversee the project, which included developing a guaranteed maximum cost based on the county’s specifications.
The spec sheet will be shorter in order to get the family justice center down to a maximum of $41 million.
"We're probably doing less, I'd say, things that are really not needed ... ornate brick, just a lot of things that you could cut back and still have the courtrooms you need and so forth to help the families and kids," Peters said.
Commissioners have also canceled the agreement with Manhattan.
"It has nothing to do with Manhattan's abilities to do the job. It has to do with the process and the type of process we're using to finish the process," Peters said.
The rebid will delay the start of construction by two months or more. The family justice center will be on the old Storey Wrecker site at Archer Street and Elwood Avenue, which cost the county $5.6 million.
