The Tri-County Community Corrections Board met Monday morning inside the Polk County Justice Center to discuss the Red River Valley Juvenile Center. The board discussed potentially closing the Secure side of the building temporarily while the non-Secure side is being remodeled. The board also heard a presentation from ICON Architectural Group member Todd Blixt as he provided an update on a potential timeline and cost for fixing the non-Secure side.
SECURE DETENTION STATUS
After some discussion, the board has decided to temporarily close the Secure Detention Side of the Red River Valley Juvenile Center until the non-Secure side can be remodeled and re-opened.
Tri-County Community Corrections Executive Director Andrew Larson talked about a few things that went into the decision. “The board made the decision based on a couple of factors,” said Larson. “Because we’re only operating one side of the building, we aren’t currently able to be as cost-effective in our operations. The other part and my biggest concern is that some kids may be detained in Secure Detention for too long, which could impact their growth. We don’t want kids incarcerated longer than necessary, and without the non-secure side functioning, this is a problem we could have.”
The cost with reduced staffing at the facility is estimated to be around $53,000 per month. By closing the facility, other costs are incurred, and the overall savings per month after these costs are calculated at approximately $10,000.
A concern from temporarily closing the facility is losing staff members. Tri-County will be offering the staff other employment opportunities and will be working on keeping them employed within Tri-County Corrections. “Because we do have staff working in that building, we will work with them to try and find alternative employment within our organization,” said Larson. “It may be working in the jail, probation department, but we have excellent staff, and we want to make sure we don’t lose them. So will work with them to find alternative options.”
October 11 is a rough target date for when the closure will begin. This will allow staff at the Red River Valley Juvenile Center to find other work while also giving some time for Tri-County to transport any kids that may be incarcerated right now to other facilities. The hope is to have the entire building back operating fully sometime between June and October in 2022.
NON-SECURE DETENTION UPDATE
Todd Blixt of ICON Architectural Group provided an estimated timeline of the work that will take place on the non-Secure side of the building while also answering any questions the board had.
The plan is to have the project blueprints completed by November 1 and submitted to the State for approval. Once approved by the State, there will be a three-week bid process with local contractors. After a bid is awarded and the process is complete, the goal would be to start construction at the beginning of 2022.
One question asked by the board was if Blixt could provide the latest the project would be completed by. Blixt believes the end of 2022 would be the worst-case scenario, but things are currently changing on a week-by-week basis with the availability of products and materials.
Larson spoke more on some potential setbacks that could occur with the project. “Right now, the lead time on ductwork and replacing air handling units is a big issue,” said Larson. “it’s anywhere from 26-28 weeks in getting those. There are also other things that are tough to get right now, and it’s problematic for a large-scale project. What’s available today might not be available in three months, so it’s not easy to set firm timelines on anything because of that.”
The budget for the project has been estimated by ICON Architectural at $900,000. This also can change and be lower or higher based on if contractors are busy or searching for work when the bidding process begins. The entire facility will be re-opened once the non-Secure side is complete, and at that time, operations will be back to 100%.
Larson is hopeful the building is operating as soon as possible, sometime next summer but is also preparing for things to potentially take longer. “Hopefully, the best-case scenario is the one that plays out,” said Larson. “There are a lot of moving parts and lengthy lead times, so hopefully it’s June, but we will plan for later if necessary.”
