Revamp of sheriff HQ more costly than expected

Walls at Cooks Corner site lack needed reinforcements

Ground penetrating radar has revealed that the former Lewis B. Puller Vocational Center building at Cooks Corner has exterior walls that lack the reinforcement elements as the original plan indicated.

In October 2022, the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors voted to fund an estimated $4.5 million renovation of the building to serve as headquarters for the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office and for the county’s Department of Emergency Services.

Bay Design Engineer Ben Burton brought the bad news to supervisors at their June regular monthly meeting. At that meeting, supervisors approved a change order for the design of the structural work and consulate fees during the bidding and construction phase of the project.

The change order will authorize that the structural elements be installed in the walls and it will increase the price of the total renovation of the building, said Burton. Until the bidding process is complete, the actual cost of the increase and total cost of the project is unclear.

At the June meeting, Middlesex Sheriff David Bushey and County Engineer Charlie Beam encouraged the board to install the reinforcement items in the walls and move forward with the project. Sheriff Bushey has been a strong proponent for renovation of the former Puller Center building.