Johnson County supervisors to interview firms for ambulance services building

IOWA CITY — Johnson County Supervisors plan to host interviews with three corridor firms vying for the contract to design the county's future ambulance services and medical examiner's building.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday agreed to host one-hour interviews April 29 with representatives from Iowa City's Rohrbach Associates and Carlson Design Team, as well as OPN Architects, from Cedar Rapids.

Ultimately, the board hopes to select one firm to create the final design for a building at 808 S. Dubuque St. to house the Johnson County Ambulance Services Department, the Medical Examiner's Office and provide storage for the Auditor's Office and Facilities Department.

'We now can determine which of the three are kind of what our vision is for the site,' Supervisor Terrence Neuzil said.

The final scope of the building has yet to be determined, but Supervisor Rod Sullivan said county officials expect to need about two floors of space to fit their needs and added stories could be explored.

The board currently has roughly $3.4 million budgeted for the project, but additional funds could be allocated, depending on proposals.

County officials have been eying a new facility to meet the growing needs of the ambulance services department for years, but plans had been placed on hold in past years while the board attempted to pursue space and security issues at the Johnson County Courthouse and jail.

The three design firms were selected — based on experience, completeness of proposals and other factors — from a pool of ten by a space needs committee and Supervisor Mike Carberry noted that having all local companies is a plus.

'I always like to use local firms, keep the money in Johnson County,' he said.

Johnson County Executive Assistant Andy Johnson said several factors will be weighed in selecting a finalist including experience, specific plans for the site, sustainability efforts and proposed timeline.