Cascade County Commissioners approved a contract amendment during their June 24 meeting for the jail booking area remodel.

Commissioners awarded the initial contract to Copper Creek Construction in January for $840,069.

The project is being funded with ARPA, or federal COVID relief funds, and reserves.

During the first phase of the remodel, some things came up outside the scope of the original contract, including some concrete demo, a change in the raised flooring, tamper safe floor drains and the fire suppression system.

The added items are $58,020, bringing the contract total to $898,089.

County Commissioners approve jail booking remodel contracts

During the June 18 commission work session, Commissioner Joe Briggs asked how the change order affected the overall project budget.

Les Payne, county public works director, said that it puts the project right on budget, but there’s no contingency funding left.

He said staff was considering using additional ARPA funds toward the project.

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 to remodel the jail booking area.

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The remodel is updating 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.

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.

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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.

During the Jan. 28 meeting, commissioners approved:

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

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.

The booking area remodel is impacting operations and CCSO officials have met with Great Falls Police Department and Municipal Court officials to discuss the project.