The Blaine County Commission again heard from representatives of Joe D. Hall, construction manager and Principle Design, designers and architects, concerning the proposed jail build.
One item was to re-approve the contract between Hall and the county, changing the names of the commissioners from Districts # 1 and 3 to reflect the outcome of recent elections and resignations.
Once that was completed, the parties moved ahead to discuss the newest design plan. Ben Smith, from Principle, had taken the tentative plans to the state department of health which oversees the jails and prisons in the state. The review of the plans determined if the structure would meet both federal and state prison standards. There were a few changes that had to be made to satisfy the review. One of those was the amount of free floor space per inmate. This is square footage with no furniture or other obstructions. Another requirement is windows in each cell to admit natural sunlight.
Now the plans and design have been approved before construction begins. “I feel confident anybody (else) we get to review this plan will be thrilled with it,” Smith said.
The proposed site, east of the existing sheriff’s department, has been surveyed and the plans scaled to fit the lot. Once the adjustments had been made, the county is looking at 16,900 square feet, with the capacity to house 84 detainees. Presently, the best estimate of cost is $12.5 million.
But Kris Richardson, the Hall representative, cautioned the commissioners that was an estimate based on assumptions that would continue to fall as the details were penciled in. For instance, he said, the scale back from 112 beds to 84 had significantly reduced the estimated cost of plumbing the facility.
“Ben (Smith) did a good job reducing the beds to fit the site.” Richardson also noted the estimates included more than $1.5 million in holdbacks for inflation and contingencies. It is also an inclusive estimate, carrying costs for finishing the detention area of the jail, but not the office furniture, data or computers for the sheriff’s office.
Eventually the commissioners decided the bid packets could contain an alternate build for one of the exercise yards. If the costs with the yard came in too high, that could be separated from the bids and constructed later.
“And if on bid day, none of the bids come in at what you can afford, you don’t have to accept any of them,” said Matt Grove of Principle Design. “And we go back to the drawing board.”
Looking toward the future, Smith said, the plans are drawn so that additions are fairly simple. “We approach it as the long game. It’s built to add on.”
Looking at the plans laid out on the commissioners’ table, Richardson said, “I like it, Ben likes it, Travis (Daughtery) likes it.”
Commissioner Brandon Shultz agreed. “We are moving toward somewhere we need to go.”
In about two months the two companies will come back to the commissioners with the estimates broken down into categories whereas the March estimate is an overall or ballpark estimate of costs.
The Blaine County Commission meets at 9 a.m. every Monday save holidays at the county courthouse on Weigle Avenue.