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Jail expansion remains on track; county and contractor report third‑quarter finish likely
Summary
County staff and the project's construction manager reported steady progress on the Amador County jail expansion, citing complex foundations and rain delays but projecting substantial completion in the third quarter of 2025.
Amador County General Services Director Glenn Spitzer and Vanner construction manager Lance Durfee told the Board of Supervisors that the county's jail expansion project is progressing broadly on schedule and should reach substantial or final completion in the third quarter of 2025.
The update noted the project is funded in part by state SB 863 money and required additional county matching funds after inflation and schedule delays. Durfee said the work adds roughly 12,700 square feet to the existing jail and will include 40 new beds, two day rooms, a program/treatment room, dental and exam rooms, offices, a recreation yard with access to the existing yard, a new control room and mechanical rooms, and a mobile command structure for the Sheriff's Office.
Durfee described major construction challenges the contractor has handled: very complex foundations anchored into rock on steep terrain, extensive rock excavation and engineered fill under slabs, trenching and reconfiguring utilities that serve the existing jail, and limited site access. He said weather (heavy rains) caused schedule pressure earlier in the job. To date the team has placed more than $6 million in building materials, roughly 1,000 cubic yards of concrete and over 90,000 pounds of reinforcement steel, and brought in large volumes of engineered fill.
Spitzer and Vanner credited collaborative work among the county, design consultants, the contractor (identified in the presentation as F and H Construction) and owner's representatives for maintaining a low change-order rate. The original contract value presented was $23,656,000; reported change orders were under 0.6% of that amount. Durfee said the project has expended a bit more than half of the budgeted money so far and that construction still follows a bell-curve spending profile.
Board members asked about remaining risks. Durfee repeated the key near-term critical path items: finishing foundations and slab-on-grade work, completing retaining walls and the lower parking lot, drying in the structure and then moving to interior tenant improvements. He offered tours of the site to supervisors.
This was a presentation-only item; no board action was taken.
Ending: The county will return routine status reports as work moves into interior finishes and activation; no formal board vote was required at the update presented on the record.
