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Local News - June 2002 |
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Bids to be opened on DSS work By ANDIE LEATHERMAN, LTN Staff Writer June 10, 2002 - Bids will be opened June 20 for a new county Department of Social Services office building. Lincolnton architect Dennis Williams is confident that the current market will mean a good price for the agency. “Construction volume is low. Prices should be favorable,” he said Friday. The former Winn-Dixie on East Main Street at the intersection with Generals Boulevard will be remodeled into DSS headquarters. The building and 6.25 acres were purchased by the county in June 2001 for $860,000. The adjacent empty stores will also be part of the project. The building will extend 20 feet in the front and the side which is visible to the public. “It will look like a new building,” Williams said. Estimates last year placed the cost of renovating the building at about $2.5 million with federal and state funds paying part of the expense. New construction will total 7,200-square-feet with the total building at 42,000-square-feet at completion. Williams described a building where the public will enter through automatic doors into a central lobby. From there, a receptionist will direct visitors to follow a color-coded pattern to the department they will visit.. Each department will have separate waiting areas and play areas for children. This is to improve client confidentiality. The staff helped with the plans as part of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families/Child Welfare collaborative, a pilot project of the Jordan Institute. The building design was part of an overall plan the staff wrote to increase services to its clients. Increased prevention services, improved family prosperity, safety and permanence were part of the plan. Plans include two interview rooms, nine conference rooms, 105 offices and a meeting room that seats 100 people. “They have never had a facility where they could get the entire staff together,” Williams said. Currently, the agency is housed in the cramped Human Resources Building on Sigmon Road which it shares with the county Health Department. DSS’s adult services, Work First, child support and Families For Children units are housed at four off-site locations. When the new building is complete, these workers will be back with the rest of the agency. When DSS moves into its new building, the health department will occupy the entire Sigmon Road facility. All entrances except for the front will be by controlled access. Employees’ county identification will be equipped to open these doors. A computer will record the time each person enters, Williams said. The facility will be monitored by cameras which can be viewed off-location. Client records will be under tight security. The rear parking lot where county vehicles are stored will be fenced with controlled access, according to Williams. Initially, DSS hoped to occupy the building by January 2003 but now the completion date has been moved to early spring, Williams said. DSS staff received the highest ranking possible by the Jordan Institute for their work on the project. Lincoln County was among 10 counties statewide to be selected for the program. It outpaced some larger counties, according to Vicki Taylor, an administrative assistant in the child protective services unit. “We are really proud of all the workers,” she said.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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