Jackson County project team says jail on track for Dec. 10 substantial completion, June 2026 occupancy

Manny Abarca, chair of the Public Works Committee, heard an update from county staff and contractors that the new Jackson County jail remains on target for substantial completion on Dec. 10 and for occupancy and staffing in June 2026.

The county’s construction team said third-party commissioning by Burns & McDonnell is under way and will intensify after substantial completion to verify systems, train corrections staff and complete final checks. Brian Gaddy, Public Works, said the correctional department requested a slightly extended transition period to “ensure that we have everything, all the kinks worked out before it is populated.” Jeff Jenkins, a project consultant with JEDEM, told the committee he did not “foresee anything” that would prevent the June 2026 transition.

The status update matters because the construction timeline affects staffing, operations start-up and related county budgets. Committee members asked about how the county will manage public engagement and visibility once the building is substantially complete; staff said tours and community viewings can be arranged with coordination and security controls.

Project progress and schedule County staff reported the project is a little more than 50% complete. Officials said the administration building and large portions of the facility are enclosed and interior installation and equipment work are the current focus. The committee was told the definition of substantial completion used by the project team means the building “is able to be occupied for its intended use,” while some minor items may remain under warranty and closeout.

Third-party commissioning and closeout Staff said Burns & McDonnell is the third-party commissioning firm and has been on the project for roughly a year. Commissioning will include system-level testing, review of owner manuals, and on-site training with corrections staff and will continue through warranty periods after occupancy.

Compliance, payroll and workforce metrics Colleen (compliance staff) and county project staff described an ongoing compliance review that the county believes is largely resolved but still has a few open items. Those items include late payroll reports and a small number of overtime/payroll entries that require follow-up with subcontractors and their timekeeping systems. Colleen said the team “cleared out” much of the earlier backlog and that the remaining items are minor and being worked through.

Committee members pressed for clarity on contractor performance. Brian Gaddy and Jeff Jenkins described work with Acxiom (contractor name in the record) to resolve late payroll and subcontractor documentation; county staff said most of those issues have been corrected and that only a couple of subcontractors remain to turn in paperwork. Colleen said some payroll entries showed workers as present on incorrect dates, which produced apparent late payroll flags that are being reconciled.

Workforce goals and local hiring Committee members asked whether the project had a localized-hiring requirement for Jackson County residents. Staff responded there is no provision requiring the workforce be from Jackson County; the hiring rules discussed are project workforce targets rather than a local-hire mandate. Project reporting shows the construction workforce is approaching the project’s targeted workforce percentage—county staff said crews were at about 31–32% of the 35% workforce target at the time of the update. Staff also reported the project was meeting or exceeding MBE and WBE targets and was slightly under the VBE goal by a small margin.

Contractors, concrete and batch plant reporting The committee discussed concrete supply and batch-plant activity. Staff said the project planned to use multiple concrete suppliers, including Talon (referred to in the meeting), rather than rely solely on one supplier. Committee members requested that any on-site subcontractors who are working on the project be recorded in LCP/B2G tracking systems; staff said they would follow up.

Site operations and waste management On-site waste and recycling for the construction site was raised as part of the update. Brian Gaddy said materials that can be recycled are separated on-site and taken to a transfer facility in Lee’s Summit called Summit Transfer for sorting and recycling. Committee members asked staff to include a report in future updates showing the quantity of material diverted from landfill (tons or pounds) so the county can track and publicize recycling performance.

Next steps and public engagement Several committee members asked about arranging an organized site tour for legislators and the public once the building reaches substantial completion. Staff said they will coordinate community viewings with security protocols and staff responsible for public engagement (Ashley Burke and the JCDC team, including Babette Macy). Committee members also raised administrative questions about the status of the third-party compliance contract that expires in October; staff indicated they had initiated steps with administration to determine whether to extend by change order, re-bid, or otherwise continue compliance support beyond the current contract term.

Ending Committee members encouraged continued focus on compliance, payroll reconciliation and meeting workforce goals, and staff said they would return with further updates and follow-up items as the project approaches substantial completion and the June transition to occupancy.