Park County commissioners  approved Cody contractor Groathouse at an October meeting to head the multi-million dollar project to upgrade mainly the HVAC system at the Cody Law Enforcement Center, which houses the sheriff's office, Cody Police Department and Park County Detention Center. 

Groathouse was recommended over Cody contractor Sletten as the construction manager at risk for the project. 

“We are sort of blessed here in Cody to have both Sletten and Groathouse available to come in with their pitch of being local. Both of them, without a doubt, could do this project, and we've worked with both of them through the county, and it was just minimal for some of the things that we brought in,” Commissioner Scott Mangold said, adding, “no matter what we choose, we would have come out good with with these two applicants that we have.”

The committee included Mangold and Dossie Overfield as commission reps, as well as Building and Grounds Supervisor Trevor Kattenhorn and Sheriff Darrell Steward. The members graded both proposals on cost, prior work experience and other concerns. 

The county identified the need to redo the jail HVAC systems years before and moved funds originally slated for but not needed by the new Powell Library to help fund the project. 

The county has been working with a mechanical engineer to draw up plans, and County Engineer Brian Edwards said it was determined to use a CMAR format due to the complexity of the project, which will entail moving inmates around at times to allow for some of the work to be completed, not to mention the sensitive systems that need to be worked around. 

“Even though it is mostly HVAC things, there's just a lot of close coordination that needs to happen,” Edwards said. 

He said Engineering Design Associates out of Casper is working on a phasing plan including preparation of construction drawings. 

“Over the next few months, the CMAR will participate and assist in the design process including preparation of the construction plans,” Edwards said in an email. 

The work will be completed in phases with some work that is easily accessible (such as roof top unit replacement) completed in the late winter/early spring as weather conditions allow. The later phases will likely extend well into next fall.