By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
EL RENO – Renovations to the future Canadian County health site are expected to start next March. That’s according to a timeline presented Sept. 19 by construction manager Stan Lingo of Lingo Construction.
Lingo updated Canadian County Commissioners on the process of renovating a 33,000-square foot building at 6100 E Highway 66 into a new Canadian County Health Department (CCHD) clinic and offices.
In June, commissioners spent $6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal stimulus funds to purchase the 10-acre property near Highway 66 and Evans Road. They then hired Lingo Construction to oversee the construction process.
Six to eight architects will each receive a formal “request for qualifications (RFQ)” for the remodeling project.
“It’s definitely an open field,” Canadian County Commission Chairman Dave Anderson said.
Lingo listed seven architects that were identified to receive the RFQ:
Architects In Partnership (AIP), Architectural Design Group (ADG), MA+ Architecture, Dewberry Architecture, McKinney Partnership Architects, LWPB Architecture, and Miles Associates.
“We’ll take any other suggestions that you have,” Lingo told commissioners.
Responses are due Oct. 12.
The construction manager, county commissioners and CCHD leadership staff will review the RFQs submitted before deciding whether to hire the project architect then or interview candidates first.
“Likely, we’ll interview in person two or three out of that group, and then present a selection for approval to commissioners at a November meeting,” Lingo advised.
Lingo Construction also was construction manager for the $20 million Canadian County Expo & Event Center project.
“This will be a medical clinic, so the architect for the expo center would not be a candidate for the architect on the health department,” Chairman Anderson explained.
“When you’re hiring architects, construction managers, engineers, or attorneys, you’re hiring professional services. So, you don’t have to accept the ‘lowest and best’ bid. You hire based on their qualifications.”
After being hired in November, the CCHD remodeling project’s architect will spend several months preparing design plans for the building renovations.
A groundbreaking to start construction is expected next March.
The CCHD has set aside funds generated from the Canadian County mill levy for this renovation project.
“That revenue stream is what’s going to pay for all of the remodel,” Anderson said. “A different stream of county money – the ARPA dollars – bought the building.”
‘NOT TO EXCEED’ COST
Anderson has the utmost confidence in Lingo Construction as construction manager.
“When we get an architect on board and he does the design of the building, they will give us a ‘not to exceed’ (cost),” he said.
Canadian County’s District 2 commissioner favors the construction management method because it provides commissioners with professional advice at the start of the project.
“And we’ll know the cost before we ever break ground,” he emphasized.
Canadian County now owns health department buildings at 1023 E Vandament in Yukon and 100 S Rock Island in El Reno.
Both the Yukon and El Reno CCHD sites will move into the newly acquired Canadian County building, on the south side of Highway 66 just west of Canadian Valley Technology Center.
The future CCHD site formerly housed El Reno’s Halliburton plant, which closed in December 2019 when the company relocated most of the operations to its Duncan field plant.
