The Flathead County commissioners on Wednesday agreed to cost-cutting measures for the South Campus Building that will trim more than $250,000 from the overall cost.

One of the amenities tossed out — much to the chagrin of many Kalispell Senior Center members — was an outdoor patio designed as a gathering spot where seniors can eat and visit. 

Eliminating the patio will save $10,000. 

The Agency on Aging and Kalispell Senior Center will occupy the first floor of the new building.

Several seniors addressed the commissioners, outlining amenities that are important to them, such as a wood floor for dancing and exercising, a comfortable gathering area, carpeting in the dining room and the outdoor patio.

“Don’t try so hard to save money that you give up a beautiful atmosphere,” Creta Lund told the commissioners. “Don’t make a mediocre room. Put some pride into it ... don’t think of it as an old folks’ home.”

Commissioner Gary Krueger wanted to keep the outdoor patio, noting the county provides outdoor space for detainees at the juvenile detention center and county jail.

“I don’t believe we should warehouse our elderly,” Krueger said.

Commissioner Phil Mitchell said he wasn’t in favor of the patio or an accompanying canopy in that area but suggested seniors could conduct their own fundraising to pay for the amenity.

“I have two family members in rest homes, and the amount of time seniors spend outside is extremely minimal,” Mitchell said.

Commissioner Pam Holmquist also wasn’t in favor of the patio or the canopy.

Krueger strongly disagreed with the notion of having seniors raise their own money for the patio.

“Our senior citizens have been taxpayers all their lives and we’re going to ask them to do a fundraiser?” Krueger asked.

The commissioners recently held a work session with general contractor Swank Enterprises and CTA Architects Engineers to address a projected $1 million cost overrun for the two-story building planned on First Avenue West.

There is $6 million earmarked in the county’s capital improvement budget for the project, but it’s likely the building will about $7 million.

Project Manager Shane Jacobs of CTA went through the proposed cutbacks line by line, asking the commissioners to nod in agreement or dispute the proposed cuts. 

A skylight to provide natural lighting in the entrance area will be scrapped to save $15,000.

The trash enclosure area will be built with metal siding in place of brick to shave $15,000. A 40-foot seating wall outside the building will be removed, saving another $17,000, and landscaping will be trimmed back to save $10,000.

One of the biggest cost savings will be a reduction and reconfiguration of the micro-pile footings in the building foundation to accommodate the silty glacial soil. The micro-pile revamp will save about $70,000 and won’t affect structural integrity, Jacobs said.

The cost of installing footings for a future sky bridge, about $40,000, will be shifted to the Health Department’s budget.

Krueger said he was OK with the reconfiguration of the footings but stressed he wants an “engineer’s stamp” that the changes won’t affect the building’s structural integrity.

“I’m fine with making cuts that don’t negatively impact services and the life of the building,” Krueger said.

Some of the cost shavings are cosmetic. Using a different manufacturer and type of window coverings will save $10,000. Using a different kind of floor tile will save around $15,000.

Mitchell said he tried to be as fair as he could as he looked at the various proposed cost-cutting measures.

“I’m trying to give you guys as much as we can,” he told the seniors. “This isn’t the only [building] project the county is doing.”

The South Campus Building will be paid for with the county’s payment-in-lieu-of-taxes appropriations from the federal government that compensate counties for lost tax revenue from public lands.

Construction is expected to begin this spring.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.