As the county weighs proposals for the new budget for FY2019-20, one of the pending considerations is whether to construct a new booking area for the Yellowstone County Detention Center.
Sheriff Mike Linder is requesting the addition, saying that the current situation, in which booking of inmates is being done in the administration area, is not safe for staff and is not secure. Everyone passes through the same door and there are tools etc. accessible to inmates. “I am concerned,” said Linder, adding that they have already had to thwart a couple of escape attempts.
Some building funds remain in the Sheriff’s construction budget following the completion of the new jail addition, which included an unexpected $1.1 million rebuild of sewer lines, but for the most part, the booking addition would be a new project, said County Finance Director Kevan Bryan. The estimated $715,000 to $850,000 project would substantially drain the Sheriff’s department’s reserves, said Bryan, but the fund would start rebuilding this year, and there should be little risk of unexpected needs given the almost complete updating of the Sheriff’s building and detention center over the past couple of years. Although not ideal, “it’s doable,” said Bryan.
County Purchasing Agent James Matteson is issuing a request for qualifications to develop a design and more accurate estimate of the cost to build a booking center. Matteson said he will issue a RFQ on July 16 and a design-build team could be selected as soon as August 6. Matteson recommended a design-build in which the architect and builder would submit proposals as a team, because it would allow for faster construction. Matteson said that it would be possible then to get the structure framed in this fall before “weather hit.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
