It will cost Schuylkill County at least $1,783,100 to renovate a former Pottsville beauty school to house government offices.

Commissioners on Wednesday hired Miller Bros. of Schuylkill Haven as general contractor for the project.The company was the lowest of seven bidders at $1,055,000, plus an additional $21,300 to install spray-on insulation, for a total of $1,076,300.Commissioners also hired Spotts Brothers of Schuylkill Haven to install heating, cooling and ventilation systems for $264,000, Bognet of Hazleton to installing plumbing for $104,800, and Albarell Electrical of Bethlehem, $264,000, plus an additional $29,000 to install LED lighting.In October, commissioners awarded the job of removing asbestos tile from the building to Sargent Enterprises of Jim Thorpe for $43,626.Work is expected to start soon, said county engineer Lisa Mahall."The contracts need to be signed by the contractors and the commissioners, and the contractors need to submit payment and performance bonds. Once the bonds and contracts are received and signed, then a Notice to Proceed will be issued. It is at that time the contractors can start. I believe the contract states 200 days to completion," she said.The building will house Children & Youth Services, whose ranks are growing due to new laws.The county acquired the building, which is across from the courthouse, as well as two parking lots, through eminent domain from brothers Dale and Franklin Schoeneman for $740,000 in January 2012.A $500,000 government grant, which will be awarded upon completion of the project, will help offset the cost. The sale had to be done by the end of 2012 to secure the grant. The county had earmarked $2.625 million of a $21 million 2012 capital projects bond issue for the acquisition and renovation.But before a vote was taken, Commissioner Gary J. Hess said the amount the county has spent has exceeded original projections.Hess had opposed the acquisition by eminent domain. That move stopped negotiations that could have gotten a better deal for the county, he said."The whole deal was to benefit the sellers," Hess said."What we have expended from the acquisition of the building and what work as far as demolition that has been done is $955,819," he said.Add the $1,738,100 in construction costs, and the final figure comes to $2,693,919, Hess said. "A little off what the bond was.""Where are some of these funds going to come from to pay for the building," he asked."The board has been prudent over the years in placing monies in the capital reserve account," said Administrator Mark Scarbinsky. "So the additional monies that will be required due to inflation and the additional costs associated with the renovation will be coming through the capital reserve fund."Hess also said that because the county acquired the building by eminent domain, it lost out on the real estate transfer tax.Commissioners' Chairman Frank J. Staudenmeier said the county had to move fast on the building in order to get the grant."This was certainly not a knee-jerk reaction from this board of commissioners. This was under the advisement of our solicitor to go the eminent domain route because it was available to the current tenant that was in there to buy the building and our solicitor highly recommended that we go that route," he said.Hess also questioned the cost of the roof, of which the Schoenemans had agreed to pay half.Hess said that in 2009, the cost had been estimated at $98,000. In 2014, it was estimated by a different person at $75,000 to $80,000.Scarbinsky said the Schoenemans' share, about $44,385, had been factored into the final cost "as a component of the overall contract."