El Paso County will have to spend millions of dollars to renovate or replace their aging buildings, a top county administrator said Tuesday. 

In a presentation to the Board of County Commissioners, Monnie Gore, deputy county administrator, said it will cost $385 million over the next 30 years to replace all the county’s facilities.

Gore  identified several facilities that need to be replaced immediately. They include buildings that house the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, and the Department of Human Services.

The tab for replacing those facilities is $87 million, Gore said. But the costs could be considerably less — in the range of  $35 million to $40 million — should the county buy existing property and remodel it, Gore said.

“This is a great time to buy,” added Jeff Greene, county administrator. The county has been scouting out locations all over town, he said.

The county commissioners, who are all fiscal conservatives, greeted the news with equanimity. The commissioners said they will be looking at every possible source of funding – except for a tax increase.

“There will not be a request for any new taxes,” said Commissioner Amy Lathen, who represents eastern El Paso County.

Lathen emphasized that she wanted the process to be as “transparent” as possible and would like to see town meetings held so residents can provide their input.

The commissioners said funding could come from a variety of sources, including the state and federal government, as well as grants. Several of the county-administered departments already get much of their funding from those sources.

A videotape prepared by Dave Rose, the county’s public information officer, described some of the problems plaguing various county facilities. For example, at the Coroner’s Office, bodies are often lined up and waiting to be examined. Evidence is stored next to old water pipes, which could burst and ruin court cases, he added.

The computer controlling the main security system is housed in a shower stall. Tissue samples are stored in a garage, where fluctuating temperatures cause containers to crack and leak. But the most serious problem is the ventilation system.

Leon Kelly, a forensic pathologist, said on the video that the morgue does not have a separate ventilation system.

“So any time there is a body that smells poorly or a body that is potentially infectious, such as with TB, the same air that’s coming off that body is pumped into the HVAC system and then distributed to the rest of the building,” he said.

The Department of Health and Environment has similar woes, Rose reported. The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system is also outdated, and temperatures can vary from 55 to 80 degrees. Over the Christmas holidays, the department lost $47,000 worth of medications when temperatures soared. On occasion, the lights have to be turned off during medical exams to make sure the computerized equipment will work, he said.

At the Department of Human Services, the employees work in crowded cubicles. There are only 307 parking spaces for 415 employees, as well as the hundreds of daily visitors.

The bathrooms flood on occasion, the pipes are covered with asbestos insulation, and exhaust from nearby Interstate 25 makes its way into the ventilation system.

As for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, the lease is about to expire. The sheriff’s operations, which are scattered over several locations, need to be brought under one roof, Greene said.

Left to right, Brian Ortega, Jerry Fraser and Dr. Donald Ritchey performed an autopsy in 2005 in the autopsy suite at the coroner’s office. Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE FILE

MARK REIS