by Evelyn Pyburn-Originally published in the print edition of Yellowstone County News.
BILLINGS — Building a new addition to the jail will be a spring project.
Bids are expected to be let in March, according to members of the design team with Schutz Foss Architects, who met last week with a group of county officials including the sheriff, county commissioners, and other department heads.
They pored over schematics as they learned that building a 148-bed addition, adding 26,433 square feet, and renovating the jail’s laundry and kitchen will cost about $15 million, depending on how bids come in. Construction will take between 14 and 16 months.
Allen Rapacz of Schutz Foss said that field work and site work have been completed. The next steps include developing the final design and firming up the numbers.
Discussion covered a broad range of design options and construction challenges.
Sheriff Mike Linder commended the Schutz Foss team, saying, “We made you half crazy as we brought you every idea from staff. I think you came up with the best plan.”
Issues to be weighed against cost and necessity are things like whether to purchase a new emergency generator for the just the new addition or to “upgrade” to serve the rest of the jail as well, since it too is in need of a new generator.
Whether to include a grinder for the sewer, at a significant cost — $60,000 to $70,000 — which might reduce maintenance costs in the future.
If it is determined that new parking is needed, that has not been included in the scope of work.
Plans include a second video court room. “The current one is busy all the time.”
There was discussion about how to adjust jail operations and flow, to accommodate construction – such as needing a temporary laundry for eight months.
The design team noted that they will need to provide a new water line into the cell block.
Much of what can be accomplished will depend on how the bids come in. It was recommended that portions of the project be bid out as alternatives, which would allow them to be included if affordable.
Voters approved a proposal last spring to allow the county to borrow up to $9.7 million to build the addition to alleviate chronic over-crowding at the jail. The county will squeeze the balance of the funding from the existing budget and reserve funds.
