AUBURN — Androscoggin County commissioners plan to conduct a nonbinding vote at their workshop May 7 to determine how much money it feels comfortable spending on its new sheriff’s headquarters.

Board Chairman Andrew Lewis of Auburn made the request Wednesday at the commission’s meeting.

“I’d like to have a nonbinding vote to reach a consensus at what we’re looking at in terms of our budget so we can hand that budget to Harriman and say, ‘This is how much we’re willing to spend. What can you get us?’ I think that’s the best way to meet in the middle,” Lewis said.

Harriman is the design and architectural firm hired by the county to design the new headquarters at 774 Center St., the former location of Evergreen Subaru.

Once a dollar amount is determined, Harriman can readjust sections and make changes to meet the county’s budget goal.

The county purchased the property for $4.5 million in February 2022 for its new public safety building. The 6.54-acre site is less than two miles north of the Sheriff’s Office in the Androscoggin County Building at Turner and Court streets. The entire department, including patrol, dispatch, civil division and criminal investigations, will move into the new facility.

The Androscoggin County Jail will remain at 40 Pleasant St.

The new two-story facility will be 33,000 square feet, Will Gatchell, a senior architect for Harriman, said.  The structure includes 12,000 square feet from the original building on the property, an additional 17,600 for critical facilities and another 3,000 for noncritical areas.

Noncritical areas would include locker rooms, weight room, bathrooms and breakrooms.

There will be separate entrances for staff and the public. A garage, left from the dealership, will take up a section of the first floor.

“The flow works really well,” Sheriff Eric Samson said.

The facility may also include an indoor firing range.

Reusing the showroom building will save the county more than $3 million in building costs, Gatchell said last year when he first discussed the concept with commissioners.

To finance the new facility, the county will likely seek municipal bonds. While not definitive, the cost could reach $20-25 million.