Jail contract unanimously approved

CLOVIS — The Curry County Adult Detention Center project will move forward after a contract with HB Construction Inc. was unanimously approved at Tuesday's Curry County Commission meeting.

The project, which includes the construction of a new salleyport, medical unit and additional housing, will cost about $11.6 million, down from the original bid of $12.2 million after the commission approved 13 cost-saving measures at its April 3 meeting.

Curry County Manager Lance Pyle said construction on the project will begin next month. Officials have said they expect the construction to last about 17 months.

Commissioners unanimously approved, though Commissioner Angelina Baca was not present.

Also at Tuesday's meeting (all votes 4-0):

• The commission approved five change orders associated with the new county road barn project. The changes include the removal of a shower, modifying the electrical service to be underground, switching a wall from sheetrock to plywood and the addition of a new water meter and hose bib.

Facilities Maintenance Superintendent Ben Roberts said the change orders will add $684.40 to the cost of the project.

• The commission approved a resolution setting fees for the reproduction of documents and electronic media. Pyle said the only changes to the fees from the resolution adopted last year were the addition of a $10 fee for a duplicate proof of insurance form and making the sheriff's office fees consistent with other departments.

• The commission voted to remove the new county road barn from the county's 2019-2023 Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan and add road improvements to County Road 11, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project the commission selected at its April 3 meeting.

Roberts said the road barn is already under construction and budgeted for so it did not need to be included on the plan, which is meant to forecast future projects and including the road improvements to CR 11 would make the county more likely to receive CDBG funding.

• The commission approved $49,016.13 in capital outlay improvements to the Curry County Events Center. The approved items include new tables, an oven, warming tray and a chili cheese machine. About $143,000 in parking lot and road improvements were not approved due to lack of funds.

• The commission voted to table a proposal to add a charity bingo event to the 2018 Curry County Fair until more details were known about which charities would benefit and how the money would be distributed.

• The commission held several budget hearings as the county works on preliminary budget for fiscal year 2019, set to begin July 1. Pyle said the budget is about 95 percent complete and will probably go before the commission next month.

• During the commissioner's report portion of the meeting, Commissioner Robert Thornton said he has been working with Clovis City Commissioner Ladona Clayton on a new intergovernmental agreement between Curry County and the city of Clovis, which he said will be ready to vote on at the commission's May 1 meeting.

The previous joint powers agreement between the county and the city was first reached in 2000 but expired in 2016.

• An executive session scheduled for after the meeting was canceled because a donation of land to the county no longer needed to be discussed.

Pyle said the county had received grant funding to clean up land around Zulek Street and a landowner had offered to donate land to the county, but because Curry would be in violation of the anti-donation clause if it cleaned up the private property surrounding the potential donated land, the donation was declined and the grant money was returned.