NORWICH – County officials are figuring out how to handle a major curveball for the proposed $35 million office building project.

Adhering to a relatively new state code that requires a sustainable energy component on new construction, project engineers must now plan for a solar array to power the new office building – an expense that has not yet been factored into the final cost of the building.

The project now faces a $28,000 expense increase to pay for an engineering study to determine the best placement and size of solar panels needed to power the new building, which is the minimum standard under the state’s new building codes. The project will incur additional costs when a solar array is priced and purchased.

“We thought there might be a time period where we might get grandfathered in,” said Chenango County Board Chairman Jeffry Blanchard, citing engineering plans for the county office building that predate the NYS energy conservation construction code that went into effect in December 2025.

But Blanchard said hopes of being grandfathered in are no longer realistic. The project is now looking at a large, unexpected, and unavoidable expense, he told members of the county’s Building and Grounds Committee on Tuesday.

“If we put it on the roof, we know that someday we’re going to have to deal with it. And that’s not something that we’re choosing to do, but it’s something the state is forcing us to do,” Blanchard said. “And it’s not just us. All new school buildings, any new construction, are having to deal with the same type of thing.”

Engineers have advised that roof-mounted solar panels may be the best and most cost-effective approach to meeting state regulations, although Blanchard said they’re also considering alternative county-owned sites that could allow for construction of a solar array, including the county landfill and the Preston Manor Home for Adults.

Blanchard also said the county will face the same regulatory hurdles when it moves forward on building a new DPW facility. Officials plan to move that project forward when they find a viable location.

“This regulation just came out and we’ve been in this process for a while,” said Buildings and Grounds Committee Chairman John Lawrence (R-Afton). Lawrence questioned whether the $28,000, if approved by the county board, will also fund studies of other possible locations for solar panels.

“My concern is that if we do a motion to authorize this, that’s as far as they’ll go, and they’re not going to look at anything else,” Lawrence said. “It will be $28,000; then six months down the road, they’ll say they have an option for another approach.”

The committee also raised concerns over the collective price tag of a solar array and the impact it will have on the project’s bottom line. Solar panels typically fall in the $1 million range to generate a megawatt of power, and such projects often bank on public subsidies for private developers to construct.

“We have to do the engineering before we can figure out what the final cost is going to be,” Blanchard said.

Committee members unanimously approved the request to go before the county’s Finance Committee, which meets July 30. A resolution to fund the $28,000 engineering report must go to a vote before the Chenango County Board of Supervisors in August before engineers can proceed.

The proposed building project has been an uphill battle for the county, drawing public criticism over its necessity as well as the transparency of local officials. The project hit another snag two months ago when a review put anticipated costs at nearly 7% over budget (totaling $37.6 million), triggering a contingency plan that allows an overage between 5% and 8%.

The county is working with engineers to revamp some of the design features for its IT department in order to stay within the initial $35 million budget.

The county has determined the cost of renovating the 1960s wing of the current office building was 70% to 75% of the cost of building new. Consequently, officials intend to raze the 1960s wing and build a new facility that will connect to the 1991 wing on the north side of the building. The plan is to construct the new building in front of the old one, move departments to the new building when it’s finished, and then demolish the old facility.

County officials aim to put the project out to bid in the fall with hopes of starting construction in 2027 and having it completed within two years.