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The amendment reveals the base amount
Kern County’s October 27 agenda approved a $25,425 increase to its Vanir Construction Management agreement for the Behavioral Health Youth Crisis Stabilization Unit and Family Resource Center. The new ceiling is $1,070,348.
Subtracting the amendment from the new ceiling produces a prior ceiling of $1,044,923. The added amount is 2.43% of that prior total.
| Measure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Prior ceiling | $1,044,923 |
| Amendment | $25,425 |
| New ceiling | $1,070,348 |
| Increase over prior ceiling | 2.43% |
A small percentage still needs a defined scope
The agenda says the amendment adds to bridging architectural and construction-management services but does not enumerate the additional deliverables. Percentage alone cannot show whether the price is reasonable.
A useful comparison would connect the $25,425 to hours, rates, revised drawings, inspections or schedule work. Without that attachment, the public can verify the ceiling but not the unit value.
The contract is not the construction budget
Construction management and bridging design support a facility project; they are not the same as the building contract or total project cost. Treating $1.07 million as the complete crisis-unit budget would be inaccurate.
Later amendments should be tracked cumulatively, alongside the construction award and completion date, to show whether professional-services growth accompanies project delays or scope changes.
Method and limits
The newsroom performed the subtraction and percentage calculation from the board’s published numbers. It did not review Vanir invoices or evaluate confidential behavioral-health information.
The record establishes a public contract change, not waste or misconduct. The missing element is the itemized added scope.
Sources and further reading
Kern County Board of Supervisors agenda, October 27, 2026, item 27 ↗
U.S. Army Corps construction-planning photograph and license ↗