Delays continue to plague El Paso County Jail Annex expansion project
The project to add another inmate section, called a pod, to the jail annex is more than 300 days behind schedule.
With problems like manpower shortages and weather now largely addressed, it is expected to open at the end of next May.
Monday, commissioners discussed what led to the delays, how to prevent them in the future, and how to divide up the extra costs caused by the delay. The county approved taking on an extra $300,000, mostly to pay for the construction manager’s contract. Contractor Urban Associates will have to take on $800,000 for their part in the delays.
County officials said the project is still under it’s $43.9 million budget, with $38.3 million spent so far.
The delay is impacting plans to move the bulk of county inmates to the annex, but isn’t causing any space problems, officials said.
“We will continue to house inmates in our downtown facility while the project is delayed,” said Chief Administrator Betsy Keller. “And we are eager to move inmates from our downtown facility to the annex, because we are able to house inmates at a lower cost per day at the jail annex.”
Estimates of those savings range from $30 to $50 per inmate per day but won’t be know for sure until the expansion is done and inmates are actually moved so it can be calculated.
