Harney County Court approves procurement exemption for jail design‑build project

Harney County Court voted unanimously Feb. 19 to accept the local contract review board's finding that the Harney County Jail Facility project may proceed under a design‑build procurement process instead of a standard request‑for‑proposals competitive bid.

The court framed the decision as a way to limit design to the county's available budget rather than designing to an unconstrained construction estimate. "The design‑build process's advantage is that they design what we can afford instead of finding out a completed design will cost more than we have," County Judge Rob Hart said during the public hearing.

Why it matters: The court recorded $8,109,194 in total available funding for the project and approved moving forward with a qualifications step (RFQ) to identify firms that can design and build within that amount. The funding package the court discussed includes an appropriations redesignation in process and county reserves; if additional funds are secured the project scope could be increased.

Funding details cited at the hearing: County staff said $3,000,000 is proposed to come from House Bill 5202 funds previously designated for a courthouse annex and that the county is pursuing Oregon Judicial Department approval to allow those funds to be used for court‑related spaces inside a jail (for remote appearance rooms, attorney‑client rooms and similar functions). County staff said the jail reserve contributed $5,109,094, drawn from payments in lieu of taxes and a one‑time federal payment plus county contributions and accrued interest. County staff also said the county has submitted a separate request to the Oregon Legislature for an additional $4,000,000 in capital project funds; that appropriation would follow the usual legislative process and, if approved, require the governor's signature and may not be finalized until September.

Procurement and competition: Court members and staff described the exemption as limited; county staff said the county will still run a competition by first issuing an RFQ to identify qualified teams, ranking them, and then issuing an RFP to the shortlisted teams for competitive proposals. "It's still a competitive process based on qualifications," Judge Hart said.

Public comment and process: No members of the public spoke during the hearing. Greg Smith, identified in the record as the county's economic development contractor, reviewed the draft before the meeting but did not attend. The county posted the local contract review board findings in the meeting packet for public review before the hearing.

Outcome and next steps: A motion to accept the local contract review board finding for exemption was moved and seconded and carried unanimously; the court recessed from the public hearing and returned to regular session after voting. County staff will proceed with the RFQ step and continue work on funding clarifications and any required state approvals for the use of HB 5202 funds.

What remains unclear: Staff said it is not yet known exactly how much of the $3,000,000 HB 5202 allocation will be applicable to the jail once design defines the square footage of court‑related spaces; that figure "might be the full $3,000,000 or it might not be," Judge Hart said. The legislative request for $4,000,000 is also uncertain until the Legislature acts; staff said that appropriation, if approved, likely would not be final until later in the fiscal year.