The Blaine County Commission heard a jail planning update Monday in regular session. The construction manager, Joe D. Hall and the design firm, Principle Design, each gave an update. The project is at or past the 50% planning stage. This was the fourth budget the firms had presented.
The planned jail will hold 84 beds and a 3,600square-foot sheriff’s office. Four of those beds will be in segregation cells to keep prisoners who are potentially ill or otherwise ineligible for general population holding separate. This cost estimate was inside the $10 million the county has budgeted.
The plans separate the exercise yard, some paving and the façade of the building in the bid list. The county could do its own paving, the face of the building could be brick or stone part way up or all the way to the top, or the county could decide to go with a simulated stucco on the upper portion to save costs. An exercise yard can be bid separately and if it is too expensive right now, could be added later. The plans also allow for the addition of another dorm pod later.
The current set of plans carries an 8% inflation buffer, which continues to drop as the bid date approaches. “Hopefully it will be cheaper,” said Kris Richardson of Joe Hall. “Hopefully it will be zero,” he quipped.
Ben Smith, the designer for Principle, said he was still searching for costsaving measures. For instance, every piece of equipment in the kitchen is its own bid item so that the commission can pick and choose what it wants and what it can afford.
“All detention is really expensive,” Smith explained. “We are trying to find more savings. But we got it all in there, including the sallyport and ramp, with a decent amount of parking.”
The next set of plans and budget will be presented at the 95% complete stage and will be used to bid the project. Those bids are anticipated for late September. There has been no word on when construction could commence.