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Liberty County approves expanded fire repairs, commissary-funded upgrades at county jail
Summary
Commissioners approved expanded repairs and a corrected contracting process after a fire at the Liberty County Jail; sheriff reported ongoing work on locks, intercoms, lighting and dorm painting and said expanded fire repairs should complete in about five weeks.
Liberty County Commissioners Court on Sept. 9 approved expanded fire-damage repairs at the county jail and accepted several jail-related payments from the commissary fund, after the sheriff provided an update on ongoing maintenance and upcoming work.
The court approved a revised contract with Cotton Commercial USA Inc. for fire damage repairs at an updated cost of $2,263,972.60, and the sheriff said the commissary fund will be used to pay the increase. The sheriff also told the court that the construction portion of the fire restoration would begin the next day and that Allied will replace the fire hose in October.
The sheriff described other ongoing work at the facility: vendor Unit Innovations will return on Sept. 15 to continue installation and coding of door locks and intercoms; maintenance crews have corrected lighting and are painting dorms; plumbing work has been done in several units; and an engineering quote for a replacement freezer has been requested and would be addressed in the October budget cycle. “They’ll be here on the fifteenth to keep the installation going,” the sheriff said, and “they should be finished with all that part of the fire restoration in 5 weeks.”
The sheriff also said the county is collecting additional quotes for security cameras, expanded-metal repairs and other high-cost items and working with county staff to round up competitive bids before executing further purchases.
As part of the court’s effort to increase transparency on commissary spending, the sheriff said the court will receive items paid from the commissary fund that exceed $1,000 on the agenda going forward. Separately, the court approved payment to Unit Innovations and Comcast Business from commissary and inmate trust funds totaling $40,630.97.
Court members voted to approve the contracts and payments after brief discussion and confirmation from county staff that Choice Partners cooperative purchasing procedures would be followed when appropriate.
The court’s vote approving the cotton commercial contract and commissary-funded payments was unanimous on the motion. The sheriff’s report was accepted by motion and vote earlier in the meeting.
The court also approved an earlier payment application to White Construction for $249,645.18 related to the Northwest Annex project; the sheriff’s and facilities work described to the court are separate but reflected broader county capital and maintenance activity.
The sheriff and county staff said they will continue collecting quotes and keep the court informed of progress and any additional budget or procurement items required for completion of the jail repairs.
