LUMBERTON — The Robeson County Board of Commissioners on Monday agreed to hire an assortment of contractors for two multi-million dollar construction projects, the new Department of Social Services building and an Emergency Operations Center.

In a series of unanimous votes, the board accepted the low bidders for all phases of both projects, contingent upon final approval by the state Local Government Commission.

"The timing of this couldn't have been much better," said County Manager Ken Windley, noting that the shaky economy resulted in competitive bids from contractors eager for work.

Windley said the awarding of the contracts could translate into saving local jobs, "and keeping jobs here is as important as the project itself."

For the general construction contract on the Social Services building, the board accepted the low bid of $8,701,000 from John S. Clark Inc. of Wilmington.

The civil/landscape contract was awarded to Barnes Paving Company Inc., of Lumberton, which bid $1,807,563. The plumbing/fire protection contract was awarded to Smith's Refrigeration Inc. of Lumberton, which bid $499,000. The HVAC contract was awarded to T.R Driscoll Inc. of Lumberton, which bid $1,970,660. And the electrical contract was awarded to M&R Electric & Security Alarms Inc. of Shannon, which bid $1,571,720.

The bids bring the total construction costs of the Social Services building to $14,549,943.

Adding in construction management costs, architectural and engineering fees, furniture, equipment and other associated costs, the total cost of the project is $18,549,857 — $138.57 a square foot.

"The cost per square foot is excellent — just wonderful," Windley said.

No local contractors bid on the general construction contract, according to Windley.

County officials expect construction on the facility to begin early next year. The proposed 92,000-sqare-foot building will be constructed between N.C. 711 and N.C. 72, just west of the county Health Department. It is being designed by Little Architects of Durham and Native Design Services of Pembroke. Metcon Inc., of Pembroke, is serving as project manager.

The current DSS facility, which is actually seven old buildings cobbled together to total about 52,000 square feet, is out of compliance with state space requirements.

In other action, the board accepted the low bid of $2,645,200 from Daniels & Daniels Construction Co. Inc. of Goldsboro to build the Emergency Operations Center. The cost per square foot is $135.72.

Design costs, furniture, equipment and other associated costs bring the total $3,488,432.

Two Lumberton companies bid on the Emergency Operations Center but did not have the low bid.

"I'm disappointed it's not going to someone in Robeson County," Commissioner Tommy Wellington said.

Board Chairman Noah Woods praised the work of the design teams.

"The architects, they did their homework. I'm very proud of that firm and what they've done," Woods said.

The board also approved a resolution to borrow up to $25 million for county and school building projects.