Commission hears $6.13 million change order for jail renovations; inmate food contract, ICE bed expansion discussed

Montgomery County commissioners reviewed a proposed $6,133,158.77 change order for Phase 2 renovations at the Montgomery County Detention Facility and discussed an inmate food-service contract during an information session in March 2025.

The change order as presented would cover three main items: replacement of kitchen equipment (listed at $455,000), expansion of the detention facility’s ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) space to 98 beds (listed at $1,200,000), and replacement of smoke and evacuation louvers (listed at $4,300,000). County staff said bond proceeds currently available in the project bond would cover the additional cost.

Why it matters: county staff and the sheriff’s office said the louvers are a life-safety component of the fire-alarm system and many parts are no longer produced by the original manufacturer, which increased replacement complexity and cost. Officials also said ICE bed space generates per-diem revenue for the county, and staff expect that additional revenue would offset some costs over time.

County staff told commissioners the kitchen equipment was found during demolition to be past its useful life and not economical to repair. The presentation said some laundry and kitchen machines were effectively too large or too degraded to move and would require replacement. Staff and contractors described efforts to identify compatible replacement parts, and said some items require specialty fabrication or cranes to install because of the existing building configuration.

The session also revisited a planned contract for inmate food service with Summit Food Service LLC, which was on the agenda as a separate bid award. County staff and the sheriff clarified that the contract covers breakfast, lunch and dinner served at the jail; it does not refer to commissary or specialty “a la carte” items sold to inmates. The bidders provided three levels of service: (1) full-service preparation and cleaning by the vendor, (2) vendor supervision with inmates performing some cooking and cleaning, and (3) a training model where the vendor supervises inmates learning to cook. Commissioners were told the county is temporarily using the youth facility kitchen because the jail kitchen is under renovation; for that reason staff recommended the full-service option for the interim period, with a longer-term plan to use the less expensive, supervised-inmate model when the facility is back online.

Commissioners asked why the need for major replacements was not discovered earlier in the project. Staff replied some issues were only evident once demolition exposed existing equipment and fire-control hardware. The county’s architect and construction manager, they said, reviewed the conditions as they arose and sought replacement options, but the lack of original manufacturers and unique building constraints increased costs.

No formal vote on the change order or the Summit Food Service award is recorded in the transcript. The change-order memorandum and the food-service bid were presented for consideration; county staff said funding is available in the current bond to pay the additional costs.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff and the county attorney to continue reviewing contract language and procurement records so the county can reduce future overruns and ensure more complete front-end due diligence on similar projects.