Commissioners extend owner’s‑rep contract and discuss demolition work at former jail

Commissioners addressed ongoing demolition work at the county jail site and approved extending the owner’s‑representative contract tied to the project. Project staff said crews removed “about, 3 feet of of asbestos that was in the 1948 Jail,” and that environmental issues related to that removal have been resolved.

Project staff described remaining site work including lighting for a new parking lot, removal of a flagpole from a fixture, and neighbor coordination for an alley where rock had been placed. They also described communications upgrades: several VHF and 800 MHz transmitters have been replaced as part of a backup system and a new paging transmitter was installed. Staff noted coverage gaps for fire dispatch and said they will meet with Motorola to evaluate adding a repeater or additional tower site.

On the question of project management, Speaker 1 made a motion “to continue mister Ballard's contract as the owner's rep on the jail project, ending at completion of demolition.” Speaker 2 seconded the motion, which passed by oral vote. Project staff said the engagement is billed at “It's, it's $500 a month.” The county will receive a bid package for demolition specifications from staff and schedule letting of bids once the package and funding approach are determined.