Quorum Court approves estimated total for jail upgrades

News-Times
News-Times

Union County Quorum Court received an update from Union County Sheriff Ricky Roberts at their monthly meeting Thursday concerning upgrades to the county jail.

Roberts said the jail committee approved six bids for different areas of the jail, which totaled over $1.2 million.

Roberts broke down the jail upgrades by category, answering any questions the quorum court members asked. Roberts added that each bid was looked over and suggested by the jail committee before presenting it to the quorum court Thursday.

The bid for a tracking system went to Tiger Correctional, the only company who placed a bid.

“We only received one bid and that’s to basically track our inmates throughout the jail,” Roberts said. “Each time they get a tray of food, each time they get medicine, each time they move from one pod to another, they’re always tracked.”

The bid totaled about $34,000, but Roberts said that the jail will get their money back over a four-year period.

“Over the next four years, they’re taking off of our insurance that we pay,” he said. “Basically, we’re going to pay up front, but they’re going to reimburse us by not charging us as much for our insurance over the next four years and it will actually be a wash.”

For plumbing and air conditioning, the jail committee decided on Glenn Mechanical. For plumbing, the bid totaled about $486,000 and air conditioning totaled about $329,000.

Glenn Mechanical was the only bidder for the plumbing, Roberts said.

Roberts said the new plumbing system will regulate the water, which will include putting timers on the inmate’s showers.

Roberts said he was told with the new system, the jail will save 40 percent off of their water bill.

Glenn Mechanical was the higher bid for the air conditioning system, but Roberts said the lower bidder was “very vague.” Roberts said they didn’t meet the jail’s specifications.

“[Glenn Mechanical] really spent some time to say this is what we’re going to get, this is what we need,” Roberts said. “They’re going to section off our jail and our whole building actually, even the district court, to where we get better bang for our buck.”

For information technology (IT) upgrades, the only bidder was El Dorado Printing, which totaled about $202,000. Roberts said the jail is in “desperate need for this right now.”

Roberts said this will include replacing their phone system and IP cameras. “We’ve got half of our camera system at the jail that isn’t working,” he said.

Roberts added they will save over $400 a month with the new phone system.

There were two bids for radios, to which the committee agreed on the low bidder, Ark-La-Tex Communications Inc. The difference between the two bids totaled about $72,000. Roberts said the difference was so high because Ark-La-Tex buys the equipment in bulk.

Roberts said he asked Ark-La-Tex about his concern in Calion, where they are not able to use their radios due to an interference from an electric company.

“We talked to the jail committee and we’re looking at an additional $20,000 to maybe put a repeater in Calion,” he said. “We’re going to see if the initial fix will fix it, and if it doesn’t, then we’re going to ask for that $20,000.”

With the $20,000 included in the total, the bid from Ark-La-Tex amounted to about $127,000. Roberts added that the additional $20,000 was included with the final total previously listed.

The last bid he discussed were bids for sliding security doors, to which they decided on Willo Products for about $43,000. There were four companies that bid on this upgrade, with Willo Products being the second most expensive.

Roberts said the low bid did not meet the jail’s specifications when it came to training. With the other three bids being similar in cost, Roberts said they decided on Willo Products because they have worked with them in the past.

“They’re very knowledgeable of what we’re asking for and how those doors operate, so we’re asking to go with that bid,” he added.

After explaining all of the bids, Justice Dean Storey said that the final amount “actually came in a little lower than I was expecting.”

Justices Carolyn Jones and Cecil Polk commended Roberts and his office on the hard work and research they did to prepare for the upgrades.

“Working around the fire issue, making sure that everything has happened, having to have a temporary kitchen out there, It’s just been amazing to go to these [jail committee] meetings and know how they’re making everything work,” Jones said. “In the long run we will benefit all the way around.”

Justice Johnny Burson motioned that the quorum approve the amount for the bids, adding that the funds will come out of the county’s reserve.

The quorum unanimously voted “yes” to approve the funds.

Roberts said the upgrades are slated to begin at the first of the year.

Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].

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