County plans phased jail plumbing work; maintenance staff propose isolation loops to limit closures

County maintenance staff presented a plan and contractor pricing to address failing copper plumbing and concealed piping inside block walls at the county jail and sheriff's office. The maintenance lead said much of the copper is embedded in block walls and hollow cavities, making access and repair costly; the recommended approach is to tie new work above the ceiling and avoid cutting into block walls where possible.

Maintenance recommended installing isolation valves and loops so crews can shut off a single pod or office instead of the entire building during repairs. The maintenance lead said staged work could be spread over multiple years to make the expenditure more palatable for a single budget cycle: "do it in sections and as a section gets done, we can move forward through the whole process." Commissioners and staff discussed the logistics of moving or temporarily consolidating detained persons with the sheriff to allow phased work.

Costs and related systems: staff noted a separate cell-level system under consideration (a sampled unit already installed) with vendor estimates of roughly $1,300 to $1,600 per cell for 37 cells, producing an approximate range near $48,000 for that unit. Another system discussed was a roughly $50,000 unit; both items remain optional and separate from the primary plumbing contract.

Why it matters: jail repairs affect facility safety and operations and can require short-term disruption to detainee housing; phased work and added isolation valves would reduce the scale of any temporary shutdowns.

Next steps: commissioners signaled support for exploring a phased procurement. Staff will refine the bid scope, explore phasing options and coordinate scheduling with the sheriff's office to minimize operational impacts.