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Harrison County approves $577,440 contract to replace jail control systems
Summary
The Harrison County Commissioners voted 5-0 to authorize a $577,440.36 contract with Sedaptic Inc. to design, build and install a new control system for the main jail and annex, citing obsolete controllers and the need to avoid a potential catastrophic equipment failure.
Harrison County Commissioners unanimously approved a $577,440.36 agreement with Sedaptic Inc. to design, build and install a new security and control system for the county jail and its annex.
The contract, presented by Patrick Scott, president of Sedaptic Inc., was approved by a 5-0 vote after commissioners and county staff described the existing control hardware as obsolete and at risk of failure. Commissioner Evar moved to approve the agreement and Commissioner Timmons seconded.
County staff and Sedaptic representatives told the court the main jail operates on decades-old programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and a manual push-button control board; those components and program parts are no longer manufactured. Captain Hain said a component failure could produce a complete systems outage. "When that's gone, it's gone," the captain said, warning of the risk that "nothing's gonna work" if replacement parts are not available.
Patrick Scott described Sedaptic's proposal as a full replacement of door controls, intercoms, cameras and other systems, with equipment designed for continuous correctional-facility use. He said the company provides a lifetime warranty and spare parts and expects the updated system to serve the county for the next decade or more. "We have to uncover everything because y'all can't remove the inmates when we're doing this," Scott said, noting extra planning is required to limit operational downtime.
Officials discussed timing and costs. Scott said the installation itself would take about 22 days, but Sedaptic expects roughly six months of planning and pre-installation work before an installation window. Sedaptic typically requests a 20% down payment, with the balance due on completion; Scott said the company can offer payment plans up to four years under certain terms.
County staff told commissioners a pending grant reimbursement and the permanent improvement fund should cover the expected 20% down payment (about $114,000). Ms. Haines, the county staff member discussing reimbursements, indicated there is a signed contract for the grant and that the county expects reimbursements to arrive to offset the up-front cost.
The commissioners voted to approve the agreement immediately. After the vote Sedaptic confirmed it would begin the preparatory schedule and a commissioner commended jail staff for efficient operations. The chair then moved the court toward an executive session on unrelated legal matters.
The contract approved by the court authorizes county staff to finalize scheduling and terms with Sedaptic; specific implementation dates and any further financing details were not specified during the meeting.
