Cascade County Commissioners approved three contracts during their Jan. 28 meeting for the booking area remodel at the Cascade County Adult Detention Center.

Commissioners had previously set aside $600,000 in American Rescue Plan Act, or federal COVID relief, funds and $400,000 in reserves for the project in December 2023.

In May 2024, commissioners approved a $68,500 design contract to Nelson Architects during their May 21 meeting to remodel the current jail booking area.

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The remodel will update the current booking area and address safety concerns caused by overcrowding.

The project will also add two additional drunk tanks, according to county officials.

The additional drunk tanks will not change the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office current policy of not accepting people with a 0.3 blood alcohol content without a medical evaluation, according to CCSO.

During the Jan. 28 meeting, commissioners approved:

• $840,069 construction contract to Copper Creek LLC
• $93,237 sole source contract to Willo Products Company LLC
• $15,582 for sole sourced security electronics and their programming to Corvinus Group LLC.

The county received three bids for construction, from Geranios Enterprise, A&R Construction and Copper Creek, ranging from $1,511,740 to $840,069, with Copper Creek being the low bidder.

During the bidding process, several specialized items used in secure facilities weren’t included in the construction contract and were sole sourced and contracted separately.

Willo will provide two frames, doors, wedge locking systems and associated hardware for the the two new drunk tanks that will be built as part of the remodel.

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Corvinus will provide the security electronics and programming for the remodeled booking area that will match the locking system that’s been being installed to replace older lock systems throughout the jail in recent years.

In December 2023, Sheriff Jesse Slaughter and Undersheriff Scott Van Dyken told county commissioners that they wanted to remodel the booking area, which is out of date and a safety concern.

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Van Dyken said the booking area dates to the original building when it opened in the 1990s.

He told commissioners that they would reallocate some ARPA funds that had been designated for a second floor railing that the previous undersheriff wanted but current officials had deemed unnecessary and of lesser need than remodeling the booking area.

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In their plan, they’d raise the booking platform, providing more security for booking officers, and raise the ceiling to install cameras since some areas of booking aren’t visible to officers at the desk.

They’re also planning to add what is essentially a drunk tank area to the booking area during the project, Slaughter and Van Dyken said.

Slaughter and Van Dyken estimated the project at $1 million and asked for the additional ARPA funds to lessen the impact on their reserve fund.

During the Jan. 28 commission meeting, Van Dyken said the jail is old and was not well maintained for many years before he and Les Payne, county public works director, were in their positions, so now many things in the jail are falling apart.

The booking remode is a “step in the right direction” he said, making it safer for inmates, law enforcement, corrections staff and civilians.

“It’s a rough place so we’re trying to make it safer for everybody involved” he told commissioners.

Commissioner Joe Briggs asked about the cost overages from the initial allocations.

Payne said they expect to go over the initial budgets, but they’re hoping to use some ARPA funds from projects that aren’t getting done rather than cutting into reserve funds.

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the booking remodel contracts.

The booking area remodel will impact operations and CCSO officials said they’re meeting with Great Falls Police Department and Municipal Court officials in the next week or so to discuss the project.

The booking area remodel is one of several capital projects approved by commissioners in December 2023 for ARPA funds.

The others include:

• new gymnasium at the Juvenile Detention Center using $1.5 million of the department’s reserves and applying for a $1.5 million state loan;
• new roof on the Four Seasons and Exhibition Hall using $1.957 million in ARPA funds and $691,963.24 in one-time federal Local and Tribal Consistency funds, which were also part of COVID relief legislation, toward the estimated $3 million project at Montana Expo Park;
• new generator for the Courthouse Annex, where many county offices are housed, using $225,000 of ARPA funds and $75,000 of departmental reserves.

During their Jan. 28 meeting, commissioners also unanimously awarded a $130,195 contact to The Third Element of Helena for a backup CAT generator at the annex.

The county received five bids with The Third Element being the lowest base bid of $127,664 plus $2,531 to upgrade to the CAT generator.

The project has an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, but should be completed sooner, according to county public works.

The Expo Park roof project is underway.

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In November, commissioners approved a $30,322 change order for the roof replacement contract after initially approving a $2,218,000 contract to AT-Klemens in January 2024 for the installation of multiple roofs in Expo Park.

Since then, the county and the contractor determined that parapet wall sheeting, a type of plywood, was needed for the exterior walls where pre-case concrete and cinderblock areas directly tie into the roof system. Installing the sheeting will allow for a smooth surface for the new roofing membrane to adhere to, tightly sealing the membrane and increasing the longevity of the new roofs, according to Payne.

The project team also decided to add antenna stand-offs to the new roofing system, eliminating antennas, mounts and cinderblocks from being placed onto the new roofing membrane causing potential damage.

There are currently multiple antennas placed throughout the roof system that are used to supply networking for various events and buildings throughout the fairgrounds.

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Instead, the antennas will be moved and placed on a standoff mounted system to be built around the north end roof where vendors can add and remove antennas without penetrating the new roofing membrane, Payne said.

The change order brings the total contract cost to $2,248,322, which is will within budget, Payne said during a November commission meeting.

In May 2024, commissioners approved a $243,000 contract to BSpark, a local architectural firm, for design services to build a new gymnasium at the Juvenile Detention Center.

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The project will be funded using $1.5 million of the JDC’s departmental reserves and a $1.5 million state loan.

The JDC is located at 1600 26th St. S. and the gym will be used to help keep juveniles active while they’re in the center and it can be used for overflow capacity when needed, according to county officials.