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Halifax commissioners unanimously approve alternate detention-center site on NC 561
Summary
After staff and architects reviewed two locations and budget implications, the Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Aug. 3 to move forward with an alternate detention-center site on North Carolina Highway 561 and restart site design work, a decision that adds roughly six months to the project schedule but preserves the project's approximate $62.2 million budget.
The Halifax County Board of Commissioners voted Aug. 3 to proceed with an alternate site for the county's planned detention center on North Carolina Highway 561.
Assistant County Manager Thomas Everett told the board staffers had prepared additional information comparing the previously proposed Fairlane Lane site with the 561 site and recommended moving forward with the alternate location. "we'd like to request a consideration, a final decision to move forward with the alternate site on North Carolina 561," Everett said, noting the design team would need to restart geotechnical borings, a traffic-impact analysis and the site survey.
Blair Bordeaux, president of Bordeaux Construction, and Todd Davis of Moseley Architects said the architectural design work already completed can largely be reused, making the needed work mainly civil redesign and permitting. The consultants said the shift creates an estimated six-month delay in the schedule while preserving the project's bed count and allowing room for future expansion.
Commissioners questioned costs and operational impacts. Sheriff Terry Davis said moving the facility two miles from the courthouse increases transport distance and some recurring transportation cost, but it does not change fundamental safety procedures. "It would be additional cost because you're driving 2 miles versus driving 500 feet," the sheriff said.
Commissioners also asked whether the facility could include space for "wraparound" reentry services. County staff said there is existing room on the 561 site and the manager's office will examine whether limited office space can be formally allocated for those services without increasing the projected budget; board members asked staff to return with specifics if the board wanted to expand the program.
Commissioner Webb moved to "move forward with the alternative site on N C 561 and see if any further action to locate a new detention center on the Fairlane Lane site," a motion seconded by Vice Chair Davis. The chair instructed that the record reflect the decision was unanimous.
Next steps: staff will proceed with geotechnical borings, traffic studies and permitting work for the NC 561 site and return to the board with further budget and design updates during the project's permitting and bidding phases. The presentation noted the original project estimate was approximately $62.2 million and the design shift was projected as net neutral for total cost after removing a privacy wall and mitigating sewer impacts at the Fairlane site.
Who said it (attributed quotes): Thomas Everett, assistant county manager; Blair Bordeaux, Bordeaux Construction; Todd Davis, Moseley Architects; Sheriff Terry Davis.
What happens next: Staff will complete borings, site surveys and a traffic-impact analysis for NC 561 and update the board on schedule and budget details.
