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EXEC UTIVE S UMM ARY the case for A NE W CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFE TY FACILITY / correctional CENTER Prepared by: Captain Budd Rigg Captain Rob Derksen Director Scott Roman Finance Director Peggy Mousaw Legislative Chairman Don Boyden JPS Chairman Richard Bushnell Vice JPS Chairman Kevin Whitney Legislative Clerk Jeremy Boylan County Attorney Karen Howe ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 1 BACKGROUND: The current jail was completed in 1990, and while many desperate pleas were made to build a facility for 100 inmates, the Legislature at the time chose to build the facility to hold 50 inmates. It was stressed at the time that a 50-bed facility would not meet the future needs of our County and its duty to address those members of our society that choose to break the law and require incarceration. It should be noted that Cortland County’s jail is only jail of remote podular design in the entire United States. There has never been another jail built like this due to its ineffective and inefficient design. The County has been paying for this shortfall for many years, which has been illustrated by numerous studies since 1990. Around the year 2000 the costs began to plague Legislatures due to the continual and rapid increase of people requiring incarceration. For the last 15 years the jail has been in the forefront of many conversations but there never has been a serious movement to address the problem. That is no longer the case, and like everything we work on, this matter requires our action now and we cannot afford to delay any longer. Knowing that we no longer could continue to ignore the problems and over run in costs, the Legislature in 2014 authorized releasing a RFP to secure pricing for an architectural firm to design and oversee the construction of a brand new Public Safety Facility, optimizing a plan for the County’s services of Sheriff, Jail and Emergency Services. RFP’s were received from SMRT and LaBella Associates. Both firms were interviewed and at the present time the Advisory Group is recommending retaining the services of SMRT Architects and Engineers. The studies that have been done over the years, the current state of our existing facility, a pending NYS Department of Corrections report and the current economic market conditions really highlight and validate our justification for needing to act on this issue now. TIMELINE OF EVENTS – • Studies have been occurring since 2004 to address jail overcrowding. Those studies are: o Cortland County Inmate Housing Costs conducted by the Office of the New York State Comptroller. Costs were examined from a period of January 1, 2002 thru August 7, 2003. Report was provided to the County in September of 2004. This study can be found at the following link: http://www.cortland-co.org/DocumentCenter/View/1345 o National Institute of Corrections, Jail Division Local System Assessment conducted in March of 2004. This study can be found at the following link: http://www.cortland-co.org/DocumentCenter/View/1346 o Cortland County Sheriff’s Advisory Committee Jail Construction Report to the ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 2 Sheriff May 2006. This study can be found at the following link: http://www.cortland-co.org/DocumentCenter/View/1348 o Cortland County Needs Assessment Final Report conducted by Carter Global Associates and issued on January 11th, 2007. This study can be found at the following link: http://www.cortland-co.org/DocumentCenter/View/1347 • July 18th, 2014 – RFP was released for a new Correctional / Public Safety Complex • July 29th, 2014 – mandatory walk through of the current jail, sheriff’s department, city police department and 911 were conducted by the respondents • Both firms were interviewed on Friday September 12th, 2014. Project came to a standstill as a result of County Administrator leaving and no clear definition of our financial ability to fund said project. • Project resurrected due to the hiring of Budget and Finance Director Mousaw and her identification of the drastic losses and dire replacement that requires our immediate attention. Director Mousaw, Sheriff Price and Captain Rigg have made it very clear; the jail has reached the end of its serviceable life. • Group reached out to both consultants in June of this year to ask them if prices they provided in 2014 were still valid. Both firms advised they would honor the responses provided in 2014. • Once both firms agreed to honor their submissions, group began meeting to determine how serious the situation is and begin compiling information to demonstrate to the Legislature why this project can no longer be delayed and needs to be addressed now. This executive summary is the compilation of those efforts. • There is a tremendous amount of information here but it is important that it all be reviewed as it builds the case from historical data, state trends as well as current data that continues to validate what all the prior studies have said, Cortland County needs to build a new Public Safety / Correctional Facility. • It should be noted, every time we go through this exercise / discussion of a new public safety facility, we add 3 years to the final occupancy of a new facility due to the process to complete a construction project of this nature. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 3 STUDIES: NYS OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER REPORT: In September of 2004, in a 21 page report, the Comptroller’s Officer issued a report to Cortland County highlighting the following items: • Every county in New York State is required by law to maintain a jail. • The rectangular design of our current jail which has the cells situated at right angles causes blind spots requiring additional Correction Officers to provide mandated supervision of inmates. Our staffing levels are significantly higher when compared to other jails that employ a podular design. • A 2002 study found that, an average of 59 inmates were housed daily in the jail and 32 inmates were boarded out. • In 1997 the first variance was issued allowing the jail to house 15 more inmates in three multi-inmate sections, and the recreation room in the jail, bringing the authorized capacity to 74 inmates. It should be noted despite this variance, it was still necessary to board inmates at other County’s jail facilities. It was also noted at the time, the County had no formalized plan to address the overcrowding despite the first variance being issued in 1997. • During this study it was noted that the inefficient design was leading to open cells due to insufficient space and ability to accommodate female inmates. • The Comptroller was very pointed in identifying that variances are not granted automatically and can be revoked at any time. • In 2002, our jail population grew by 13 percent which actually exceeded national trends. • In addition to the rising population our current design is not sufficient to meet the State requirements for physical separation for specific categories of inmates, i.e. minors, female adults, and special needs. These factors have led to heavy boarding out and a reliance on what could be temporary variances. • County officials need to formalize and institute a strategic plan to address the insufficiency of the Public Safety facility as soon as possible. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 4 CORTLAND COUNTY SHERIFF’S ADVISORY COMMITTEE In May of 2006, Cortland County Sheriff Lee Price formed an Advisory Committee to study the jail facility as well. Many of their findings echo those above. However, the following additional items were discovered beyond the concerns listed in the Comptroller’s report: • A tour of the physical facility revealed an overtaxed infrastructure. Plumbing fixtures are nearly impossible to access and not designed for the increased jail population. HVAC units are overtaxed. Continued stress placed upon this system by an overpopulated jail will only exacerbate the situation. (This issue has become more critical and expensive in the last year due to the confined space manning requirements.) • The Jail Division is not adequately staffed. Some Corrections Officers are mandated to remain in their fixed posts due to jail design, thereby limiting mobility and response to situations. This presents danger for staff as well as inmates and creates a dangerous and potentially litigious situation for the employees, the county and the taxpayers. • It is impractical to build atop the current structure due to the need to relocate all the inmates and this will only increase the number of Corrections Officers required to supervise all the inmates in multiple levels and the transport required during this process for court appearances and medical appointments. • The 2006 Advisory Group met with the architectural firms of SMRT and LaBella which are the same two companies that have provided the current RFP’s being considered. • This report was respectfully submitted by James Cunningham, Tom Jewett, Scott Ochs, Charles Uttech, and Gary Wood. ADDITIONAL STUDIES – Additional studies were conducted by the National Institute of Corrections, a division of the Federal Bureau of Justice and Carter Global Associates. It should be noted these studies as well echo all the comments listed above. We felt the two studies we provided, spell out the grave situation of our jail back in 2004 and 2007 and these two additional studies validate and echo all the existing comments. We have provided the links to all four studies on pages 1 and 2 of this executive document. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 5 FINANCIAL IMPACT - ACTUAL BOARD OUT COSTS: Between 1990 and 1999 it should be noted, that boarding in revenue generated $1.5 million dollars. The following is a breakdown of board out costs since that point: Year Board Out Cost OT Costs Related to Transport Board Outs & Overcrowding Total Cost 2000 $43,706.00 *Information not available $43,706.00 2001 $54,812.00 *Information not available $54,812.00 2002 $87,225.00 *Information not available $87,225.00 2003 $149,160.00 *Information not available $149,160.00 2004 $12,506.00 *Information not available $12,506.00 2005 $113,165.00 *Information not available $113,165.00 2006 $237,460.00 *Information not available $237,460.00 2007 $55,660.00 *Information not available $55,660.00 2008 $86,805.00 *Information not available $86,805.00 2009 $75,435.00 *Information not available $75,435.00 2010 $150,220.00 $125,186.18 $275,406.18 2011 $93,775.00 $142,664.62 $236,439.62 2012 $227,420.00 $194,867.94 $422,287.94 2013 $254,920.00 $265,342.18 $520,262.18 2014 $201,000.00 $255,371.47 $456,371.47 2015** $214,000.00 $139,430.40 $353,430.40 TOTAL $2,057,269.00 $1,122,862.79 $3,180,131.79 *Information not available – payroll records only go back as far as 2010 on the County’s current payroll system. **2015 – records are as of July 31, 2015. The Sheriff is requesting another $150,000 at the August Legislative meeting. If this trend continues, the 2015 total may exceed $605,000. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 6 BOARD OUT COST FOR INMATES CURRENTLY HOUSED IN GYMNASIUM The following is a breakdown of boarding costs if the County were not permitted to house 30 inmates in the reconfigured gymnasium. This modification was permitted on the condition that we are pursuing a new facility. If at any point we are found to be non-compliant within the facility, the gymnasium refurbishment will be the first mandated area to be closed. This is a very realistic scenario that has drastic cost implications. YEAR ACTUAL BOARD OUT COSTS BOARD OUT COST IF GYM RETRO IS LOST TOTAL 2014* $456,371.47 $364,000.00 $820,341.47 2015** $353,430.40 $519,775.00 $873,205.40 *2014 numbers are from August thru December. **2015 numbers are from January 1st, 2015 to July 31st, 2015. ***Actual board out costs would increase as well if gym retro was not in place or lost due to increased costs for the increase in inmates having to be moved. It also is very important to point out that this intermediate Band-Aid fix required us to hire four additional correction officers. The cost of one new, entry level correctional officer with benefits per year is $66,465.82. This modification cost the County an additional $265,863.28 for one year of employee salaries. It is important to note here, this only takes into account the officers’ salaries. This figure does not include their uniforms, requisite equipment and training. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 7 DATA TO SUPPORT RAPIDLY ESCALATING COSTS – *It should be noted on the chart that you will see right around 1990 / 1992 is when number of people incarcerated skyrocketed which is at the exact same time we opened our 50 bed facility against all recommendations. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 8 *Clearly demonstrates the impact drug related offenses are having on jails. The next graph depicts the reasons jails continue to be beyond capacity due to mandated separation adherences. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 9 ALTERNATIVE MEASURES CONSIDERED: 1. ADD A SECOND STORY TO THE EXISTING JAIL – • When the decision was made to reduce the size of the jail from being able to accommodate 100 inmates versus the agreed upon 50, all measures to provide an addition in the future were removed. As a result of the downsized jail, all support structures were eliminated. If a second floor is to be added now, supports will have to be driven into the ground. • Adding a second story requires all inmates to be moved for a minimum of at least a year if not two at a minimum cost of $3 million dollars per year to house out the inmates during construction. • While inmates are housed out, there will be an exorbitant overtime cost to transport inmates back and forth to scheduled court appearances, medical appointments, attorney consultations and all those arrested after construction starts. As the chart on page 4 illustrates, this cost can exceed the annual boarding out expense. • Does not address the already inefficient design of the current facility which will require major modifications as well to address its inefficiencies. • Existing plumbing and utilities were not designed to handle the present capacity. Expansion would require costs in engineering, design and infrastructure. • Will require a doubling of all staff functions as a two story jail requires equal number of corrections officers and support staff on both levels. • If a second story were feasible, the County would only gain 30 beds at most. The original plan allowed for 60 beds but you would lose the 30 beds in the gymnasium and would require additional space for storage and mandated inmate recreational activities. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 10 2. PORTABLE PODS IN THE PARKING LOT – • There is no viable temporary housing unit available that meets the New York State standards. • While they may be viewed as portable, they will become permanent fixtures in the parking lot. • Does not address or provide any means for the already overcrowded parking lot. • Each POD unit will have to be manned by an additional 5 Correctional Officers that are not employed at this time by the County. This modification will cost the County an additional $332,329.10 for one year of employee salaries. It is important to note here, this only takes into account the officers’ salaries. This figure does not include their uniforms, requisite equipment and training. • State law mandates that inmates be allowed access to the outside and time to exercise. Inmates in the PODS would have to be moved to the general recreation area requiring further corrections officers and increased risk for inmate escape opportunities / officer safety issues as they are being shuffled between these PODS and the recreational area. Would also require a larger recreational area available or more designated recreation times further increasing overtime costs. 3. INCREASE FOOT PRINT OF EXISTING SITE – • Potentially requires purchase or eminent domain of 9 properties depending on addition and the need for adequate parking. It should be noted adequate parking does not currently exist. The City of Cortland is already struggling with providing adequate downtown parking. • Eminent domain proceedings are very costly and will not allow the project to move forward until all the properties have been secured. This will not allow us to curb any existing costs. It also does not take into account the cost for demolition of the properties which will greatly add to the cost of building a new facility. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 11 • Potentially removes nine properties from the tax rolls that will have the following cumulative effect in lost revenue annually to Cortland County, the City of Cortland, and the Cortland Enlarged City School District: Property Assessment County $14.46 Tax City $15.58 Tax School $18.86 Tax 44 Port Watson - Sunoco Gas Station $400,000.00 $5,784.00 $6,232.00 $7,544.00 50 Port Watson $138,000.00 $1,995.48 $2,150.04 $2,602.68 58 Port Watson $140,500.00 $2031.63 $2,188.99 $2,649.83 60, 62, 64 Port Watson $127,300.00 $1,840.76 $1,983.33 $2,400.88 66 Port Watson $118,000.00 $1,706.28 $1,838.44 $2,225.48 45 Church $170,500.00 $2,465.43 $2,656.39 $3,215.63 41 Church $225,700.00 $3,263.62 $3,516.41 $4,256.70 39 Church $162,000.00 $2,342.52 $2,523.96 $3,055.32 Annual Loss in tax revenue for 1 year $21,429.72 $23,089.56 $27,950.52 The following items should be noted in this table. First it is not known if there are any allowable exemptions for these properties. Secondly, the tax rates for the County and City are the 2014-15 rates. The school district tax rate is for 2015-16. Also the current assessments do not take into account the current market value for these properties. • Requires all inmates to be moved for a minimum of at least a year if not two at a minimum cost of $3 million dollars per year to house out the inmates during construction. • While inmates are housed out, there will be an exorbitant overtime cost to transport inmates back and forth to scheduled court appearances, medical appointments, attorney consultations and all those arrested after construction starts. As the graph on page 4 illustrates, this expense could double the total housing out cost. • Does not address the already inefficient design of the current facility which will require major modifications as well to address its inefficiencies. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 12 • All of the plumbing and utilities will have to be moved as they are currently located in a confined space that makes repairs and required inspections nearly impossible. New regulations are being brought on line to require an engineer on site any time access is required as well as adhering to Confined Space Entry protocols as required by OSHA. This will now require a minimum of three persons per confined space project to be in place and on-site anytime work is being performed. • The existing plumbing and utilities were not designed to handle the present capacity. Expansion would require costs in engineering, design and infrastructure. 4. REGIONAL FACILITY - • Requires State Legislative Approval – currently prohibited by State Law. • Transport costs will increase for one or both of the counties depending on facilities location in terms of court appearances and medical appointments. • City, Town, Village and County Police Department costs will increase as the police departments will now have increased travel costs depending on location for arrested individuals to be dropped off at the Regional Correctional Facility. • Oversight and Administration - How will each county’s needs be addressed, who will be in charge of the facility, who will be the primary on the bond, who will be responsible for building the facility and its design, will require dual board approvals, how will expense and potential revenues be shared, space configuration for staff, how will correctional officer staffing requirements be met, who determines housing out or in, what will be enforcement of any shared agreement? • How will utility costs, maintenance costs, building needs, recommendations for improvements as time goes on be handled if both Counties don’t agree? • There may initially be State Aid assistance for Local Efficiency but what happens if that is reduced or eliminated over time? ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 13 SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT ROAD PATROL / CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION ISSUES NECESSITATING A COMBINED PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY - • County law states Sheriff has to have an office in the Correctional Facility. If the Sheriff’s Department Road Patrol / CID unit is not made a part of this facility. Sheriff will require two offices and have to share his time between both buildings. • Current Building Design is not properly secured for safety of employees and allows public access to vital areas of the public safety building. • CID Design – need more interview rooms as well as provide a more discreet entrance/exit for investigators. • Insufficient Evidence Storage within the current Public Safety Building - outgrown our evidence storage within the Public Safety Building even after remodeling and adding two additional rooms. Greater demand for evidence storage from retail store larcenies, drug related offenses and an increase of confiscated firearms storage. • Large Evidence Storage - currently using a building provided by the Town of Cortlandville. However that building will soon no longer be available to us. In addition, the current building although provides space it does not meet the proper security standards set by the NYS Department of Criminal Justice in regards to building security and video surveillance. • Large Equipment Storage - our department has several large pieces of equipment, such as boat, snowmobiles, car seat trailer and etc., which needs to be properly stored in a secured location. • Impound Lot - currently using an impound site which is not located near our department and is not properly monitored. • Records Storage - similar to evidence storage, our current space for department records storage is inadequate. • No private / secured parking for Sheriff’s / Corrections staff allowing criminal element access to officer’s vehicles. • Lockers Rooms - current lockers are too small, making it impossible for officers to store uniforms and equipment. Not enough lockers for Road Patrol and Corrections staff. • Training Room - our department does not have a room suitable for department training. • Fitness Room - provide a location for our officers to stay physically fit. Fitness opportunity would provide officers the ability to stay in better physical condition, which in turn could reduce injuries sustained while on duty. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 14 911 COMMUNICATIONS / EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE POINTS NECESSITATING A COMBINED PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY - • One location for the public to have access to all Emergency Service Responders of Cortland County. All these entities are producers of records that the public needs to take care of incidents they have had. • Sheriff’s Department, 911 and Emergency Management share all the same Information Technology needs in terms of servers, recorded / secure phone lines, backup generator requirements, emergency computer aided dispatch needs and records. • Sheriff’s Department Officers, 911 personnel and Emergency Management staff interact on a daily basis to coordinate response needs of the Community. • Only one location necessitating lock down in the event of large scale disturbances. • Training of multi-discipline agencies can all be performed in-house making it easier to assemble necessary personnel. JUSTIFICATION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A NEW PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY- • There is an estimated $2.5 to 3 million dollars needed just to replace the existing 25 year old utilities and deteriorating infrastructure that are reaching the end of their life and were installed with the intent of housing 50 inmates, not the current population of 93. These known repairs may buy us an additional five year life on the current facility. • It is extremely important to note here, any and all of these repairs / alterations require the approval of the New York State Corrections Commission. With no master plan in place for a new facility, this could result in our dorm modification being revoked along with an order to remedy all existing deficiencies immediately. • In the very near future it has been reported that the State will be mandating an additional 10 to 12 Corrections Officers due to inefficient jail design and required inmate supervision requirements. Our current facility was not built to allow for large group supervision. The cost of this mandate will be approximately $1 million/year in wages, benefits, training, clothing and equipment. • A new jail affords greater public safety as more law enforcement officers will be on the street more often, instead of transporting inmates. Currently there is no central booking area to hold and process those arrested. As it stands now the officers have to complete the entire process which takes approximately 3 to 4 hours. Further, the officer has to sit with and supervise the arrestee until a judge can be found for arraignment. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 15 • A new facility will eliminate the need for judges to be on call at all hours, and law enforcement officers will no longer be taken off patrol for a 3 to 4 hour period as the arresting process will be done at the jail, as well as provide a means for legal detainment until their arraignment. Our current facility does not afford this efficiency. • The current jail is not designed to handle the increasing number of juvenile and female inmates that have their own State-mandated separation requirements that forces housing out even when the jail is not at full capacity. • Grant funds currently available via Department of Emergency Response and Communications are being held in lieu of a decision. There is approximately $145,000 immediately available that could be used towards establishing the central communications/dispatch area in a new facility. • We will be evaluating the feasibility of a joint public safety complex with the Cortland City Police Department. • Inmates sentenced to the jail for weekends present an entirely different dynamic that pose many challenges. There has been a significant increase in these types of sentences, and this class of inmates presents the following challenges: o Because we are at full capacity, we have to ship inmates out on the weekends to provide room for weekend sentenced inmates as weekend inmates will not be accepted at other facilities. o Some of these sentences are only for a 12 hour period. However, if at full capacity this requires the County to board an inmate out for minimum of 24 hours but could be up to 48 hours depending on the assignment of the 12 hour period. o Other Correctional Facilities will only take our best inmates, meaning the weekend sentenced inmates are serving time and space with our more seasoned inmates. o Due to the jail design there is no means to segregate the weekend inmates. This results in additional conflict and easier access to contraband. o A new facility would provide the means to separate the populations bringing an end to the contraband issue which is gravely dangerous for our corrections officers, the jail population and the County’s liability. • Due to full capacity, inmates have to be shipped out just to afford some cells being available for additional arrests by our law enforcement agencies. Shipping the best inmates out leaves only more hardened inmates at the facility. There is no cell space available to relocate inmates as issues arise thus creating a dangerous facility. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 16 • Medical quarters are too small. There is no actual cell and no way to observe an inmate in sick quarters. We use inmate in the singular vernacular as there is no adequate means to evaluate / treat more than one inmate currently. There are no necessary means to address the inmates’ ill condition adequately and privately. There is no space to adequately store inmates’ medical records. • There is no adequate space to bring medical professionals in to do mandated health screenings of inmates such as x-rays, sonograms, dental work, and EKG’s. Due to no sufficient or secure space, inmates have to be taken to medical offices for these services that could be done in house with a new facility. Again this poses a serious risk for our corrections officers, community members at these care facilities and our community medical professionals that have to attend to these inmates in an un-secured setting. • Based on societal and economical stressors it is evident based that drug-related criminal activity and subsequent arrests are going to increase not decrease. • We do not provide for large scale visitation because there is no safe way to do so. Other counties conduct such visitations on the weekend. Our facility has to do it every day because there is no way to accommodate large groups of visitors and due to the inadequate visitation area there are significant safety concerns for inmates, visitors and officers as well as opportunities for outside contraband to be passed to inmates. • Mandated exercise time for inmates can require as much as 16 officer hours a day due to facility design. This is the result of eliminating the gymnasium area to accommodate more inmates. Anytime there is inclement weather, the inmates have to be afforded time to exercise and this is now done in a very small area that only allows a few inmates at a time to complete their exercise time. A new design requires no officer hours for inmate exercise. • The current kitchen was designed to accommodate the needs of 50 inmates not the current population. The kitchen area, equipment and necessary storage areas are no longer big enough to address the overtaxed facility and jail population and the infrastructure is failing due to additional strain. • The County’s ability to take a proactive approach towards inmate rehabilitation is compromised due to a lack of program space to offer services to reduce the amount of recidivism such as educational services, vocational offerings, religious and counseling needs. • Podular design allows for a 50 to 1 inmate/correction officer ratio. Our existing ratio is 20 to 1 with the utilization of gym. If the gym allowance is removed our ratio goes to 15 to 1. • A new facility will be less prone to vandalism due to better supervision as well as updated technology that provides for vandalism proof utilities. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 17 • As described we have no room to store evidence. It should be noted our existing facility in the near future will no longer be available to us, leading to another cost if we continue to remain at our present location. FINANCIAL MECHANISMS TO ALLOW FOR COUNTY TO MOVE FORWARD – • Friendly financial market with significantly low interest rates. • Eliminate annual board out costs with overtime - $500,000.00 • Potential revenue generation with the ability to take inmates in from other counties • Save $2.5 to $3 million on maintenance and repairs that are desperately needed and invest in a new facility instead of funding a short term solution. • Due to the economic market, construction activity is very competitive. Facilities the group has visited have shown $1.5 to $2 million in savings on an estimated $38 million dollar project due to current market, tight contracts and strong construction management. • Work with NYSERDA to obtain funding to implement energy saving utilities • Relocate County’s Mental Health Department back into existing County owned space to achieve savings of $88,000 per year in rental expense • By consolidating kitchens with the Nutrition Department and the Meals on Wheels program, the County will no longer need to maintain two commercially designed kitchens which will free up additional County space. • Meals on Wheels consolidation will allow for greater State chargeback revenue opportunities for the County • Eliminate continued county costs in discussion and studies of a project that will eventually be mandated. • A new Director of Budget and Finance will allow the County to restructure its financial operations, space utilization, and internal controls. This will also allow us to pursue additional grant funding where possible. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 18 PROCESS TO MOVE FORWARD AND ACCOMPANYING TIMELINE – We cannot move forward in our 2016 Budget Process without the Legislature committing to Phase 1. The County will be forced to budget for failing infrastructure versus a sustainable long term solution. This will also affect plans to solve long term space utilization issues. This also affects how we pursue Department of Homeland Security Grants. There is funding available to help build out the 911 Center / Emergency Management Component of the facility but clear direction is needed establishing the Legislature intends to move forward with this project. The New York State Commission of Corrections must approve any site that is going to be used to site a jail prior to purchase (County Law 216). AUGUST JUDICIARY AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING - 1. Advisory group to present the Executive Summary to be received and filed by the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee and the full Legislature. 2. After reviewing the responses and further discussions with the respondents, the total cost for architectural, engineering and construction management services are: Labella - $3,245,200.00 SMRT - $3,243,275.00 Based on County policy, we are required to go with the lowest respondent. This RFP was written for a total project cost, not to be bid by phases. The Committee as a result of our interviewing process, reference checks and additional clarification of the responses are very confident that SMRT will deliver the product the County has requested. 3. Inform the Committee that the Advisory Group will seek approval to hire SMRT Architects and Engineers at a cost of $149,881.00 to conduct Phase 1 – Project Development which consists of pre-architectural planning and site assessment at the September JPS meeting. [Included in this as well is providing the County and the New York State Department of Corrections with suitable sites for them to sign off on and authorize.] This will be done prior to any requests for land acquisition to insure property is acceptable. 4. Ask the Committee if the timeline / recommendations provided are acceptable or if they require further information or thoughts how to proceed. ---PAGE BREAK--- AUGUST 2015 – CORTLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX 19 SEPTEMBER JUDICIARY AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE – 1. Resolution on the agenda to hire SMRT to conduct phase 1 for a cost of $149,881.00. 2. Contained in the resolution will be the recommendation that funds to initially pay SMRT will be taken from funds set in reserve from terminated contract debt. FINAL STEPS IF SUITABLE LAND IS FOUND, ABLE TO BE OBTAINED AND COUNTY AGREES TO PURCHASE – 1. If a site is identified, found to be acceptable and obtained by the County, the Advisory Group will then make a presentation to hire SMRT for a cost of $3,093,394.00 to design, prepare bids for release, review bids and assist County with awarding of bids, as well as have a daily presence on site to oversee the entire construction process. It should be noted here that the figure listed above is for a turnkey project. The contract would be set up so that once the bids are received back, the Legislature would then have to make a decision to accept them and move forward. We would not pay the full $3,093,394.00 unless we accept the bids and the Legislature agrees to move forward with the entire project. 2. It is anticipated the cost for this project will be $38.5 million dollars. Included in this figure is every single cost including the land acquisition costs and 5% contingency fund. It should be noted that this is the same situation we presented for the radio Project. Initial estimates were $24 million but in the end the project came in at $14.3 million dollars. I don’t expect to see this same variance with this project but we wanted to be certain we provide the worst case scenario.