Kootenai County commissioners approve jail‑pod change order, IT subscription switch and a slate of consent items

The Kootenai County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 25 approved a series of administrative and operational items, including a $56,000 change order to make a jail pod build‑out ADA‑compliant, a two‑year Databank subscription agreement retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025, and a formal 30‑day termination notice for the county’s existing credit‑card processor.

The board’s action on the jail project came after Building and Grounds Director Jeff Fuller described the first change order for the Sletten construction contract as necessary “to bring the sidewalks and concrete up to compliance for ADA compatibility.” Fuller told commissioners the work also includes abandoning a north‑side employee parking gate that he said has caused traffic backups on Dalton Avenue; that gate will be relocated to Cooney North, and future gate access will be restricted to Dalton Avenue and southside Government Way accesses. Fuller said the change order is about $56,000 and that a $36,000 permit savings leaves roughly $20,000 drawn from contingency.

Why it matters: the work alters pedestrian access around the Public Safety Building and triggers use of contingency funds in an active jail construction project. Fuller described the scope change as driven by the…