County Board Resolution 17-0393 approved the schematic design for the Hosmer Library Refurbishment Project (Capital Project 1004470) and authorized an award of one or more contracts to contractors offering the best value, provided the contract price is within the approved project budget.

This request seeks County Board authorization for the County Administrator to negotiate a competitively-priced contract within the approved project budget with Noor for the Hosmer Library Refurbishment Project. 

The basis for this request is Noor’s agreement with the Community Offender Management Division of the Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation to employ no fewer than fifteen (15) ex-offenders on the project, sourced through its Community Productive Day Enterprise Program.   

The county will require Noor, a general contractor, to solicit multiple subcontractor bids for each scope of work, thus ensuring the contract reflects competitive pricing. 

Earlier this year, Noor, a woman- and minority-owned general contractor, built the new Estes Funeral Chapel in North Minneapolis using a crew of ex-offenders sourced through the Community Productive Day Program. This crew had no prior construction experience, yet in 150 days, with the oversight of experienced trade members, these county clients advanced from learning basic construction skills to building walls. That outcome demonstrated the efficacy of this career pathways program, which prepares county clients for employment and apprenticeship training programs in the building trades. The county clients employed by Noor were provided on-the-job training by Noor and were paid a prevailing wage of $17.50 per hour. Additionally, Noor coordinated its training of these clients with the county’s wrap-around-service provider. 

Noor will provide on-the-job training directly and through its subcontractors to fifteen (15) county clients, who will be involved in both self-performed work and work delivered by subcontractors. This multi-trade approach to on-the-job training will give clients the opportunity to experience multiple facets of the construction process. Exposure to a broad range of work types will help clients decide the type of work or trade they prefer, which is important for deciding whether to pursue additional training through pre-apprenticeship training programs, union apprentice training programs, and/or employment by contractors that specialize in these areas. Noor will also coordinate its training of county clients with HIRED, the county’s wrap-around service provider for these clients.

Impact/Outcomes: Approval of this request advances county policies that promote training and employment of ex-offenders. Through this negotiated contract with Noor, ex-offenders will receive paid on-the job training and employment by the contractors that will refurbish the Hosmer Library.