FAYETTEVILLE — Washington County officials hope to jump-start the planned jail expansion by selecting a new construction manager for the project.
“We’ll be doing interviews in the next week, and the goal is to have somebody on board by the end of the month,” County Judge Patrick Deakins said after the responses to the request for qualifications were opened Wednesday.
The county opened four responses from firms wanting to be the construction manager on the $20 million project. The companies submitting proposals were: Baldwin & Shell of Springdale, Flintco of Springdale, Nabholz Construction of Rogers and Chris Woods Construction Co. of Memphis, Tenn.
Deakins ended the county’s contract with Smith-Doyle Contractors of Cordoba, Tenn., the first construction manager on the project, in August after the covid-related jail expansion was put out for bids twice and the county received little or no interest on some of the bid packages. Deakins and Sheriff Jay Cantrell both said they hoped a local construction management firm would attract more local builders to the project.
“The number of responses we got is very encouraging,” Deakins said.
Deakins’ goal is to hire a construction manager, put the project out for bids again and begin construction by the end of this year, he said Wednesday.
The Quorum Court agreed to spend $19.8 million in December for a jail expansion project. The county is using American Rescue Plan Act money to pay for the jail addition.
The Quorum Court approved the scaled-back plan after voters rejected a $100 million jail expansion plan and a sales tax increase to pay for it in the November general election.
Sarah Moore of Fayetteville is executive director of the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition. The group campaigned against the $100 million expansion and sales tax plan and has lobbied county officials to consider alternatives to the current plan. Moore said the group will continue its efforts.
“We are incredibly concerned that companies of that caliber would go against the will of the community as expressed in the voting in November,” Moore said. “We are also concerned that this project goes against the intended use of the American Rescue Plan Act funds.”
Moore said the county has been discussing alternatives to incarceration since 2019 and she thinks those alternatives would reduce the jail population and be permitted under the federal guidelines for the rescue plan money.
She mentioned pretrial services, mental health diversion programs such as the crisis stabilization unit, a mental health court and other ways to help people deal with the criminal justice system without having to spend time in jail.
“All of these are eligible uses of the ARPA money and are the types of things the community has said they support,” Moore said.
The expansion plan calls for adding a building to house about 136 women detainees, adding 14,000 to 15,000 square feet. A second building would provide 96 beds for men in about 10,000 square feet.
The project also includes expanding the jail’s intake area and medical space. Other parts of the expansion include space for jail administration, enlarging the courtroom at the jail and adding storage space.
Benton County officials are also considering an expansion of the county jail there. County Judge Barry Moehring said the Quorum Court will discuss expansion plans Tuesday. The conceptual plans show an addition that would house between 266 and 320 additional detainees and an expansion of the jail’s health care facilities and sally port area. The estimated cost of the Benton County Jail expansion is $21.2 million.