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Officials report jail occupancy delayed after door hardware problems; seven doors to be replaced
Summary
County staff told commissioners the new jail’s life‑safety doors require replacement because installed mortise locks will not interchange with the specified panic hardware; staff projected about an eight‑week lead time for special doors and estimated an occupancy date of June 12, 2026, while commissioners discussed holding the architect responsible for added costs.
County staff told the commission on March 16 that the new jail’s door hardware is incompatible with required panic‑bar mechanisms, and that seven rated doors will need replacement.
"We've been going through the doors last week, this week. After going through all the doors, we've got 7 doors we're going to have to replace," an agency official reported to the commission. Staff said the hardware would not interchange and that special doors would incur a lead time of about eight weeks once ordered.
Officials discussed responsibility for the additional costs. Commissioners said the architect had been put on notice for earlier issues and that the county would likely pay now and seek to recover costs from the architect later. "We put the architect on notice some time ago about other issues, and we're working on our list to make demand for the additional costs that have been incurred due to architects’ errors," one county speaker said.
Staff projected an occupancy target of June 12, 2026, subject to change as pricing and scheduling are finalized. The county also noted separate HVAC debugging and other items remain on a punch list; staff said they were trying to expedite work but could not yet confirm a tighter schedule.
Commissioners said they did not want taxpayers to bear avoidable costs but agreed to proceed with fixes so that occupancy is not delayed while claims are pursued.
