20260728 Work Session - Jail Update

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors held a work session on July 28, 2026, to discuss updates on the county jail project. The meeting focused on the progress of the jail's design and construction planning, including the completion of the criteria architect procurement and ongoing development of criteria documents. The project timeline anticipates construction beginning in September 2027 and continuing through June 2029, with testing and commissioning scheduled from December 2028 to June 2029. Discussions included efforts to reduce the jail's planned size from 200,000 to approximately 130,000 square feet to meet budget constraints, staffing considerations, and the integration of modern systems to potentially reduce staffing needs. The county has completed a phase one environmental survey with no significant concerns and is preparing for native plant removal and geotechnical soil testing. Procurement activities include contracting for environmental and architectural services and upcoming requests for qualifications (RFQ) and proposals (RFP) for a design-build team. The county also reviewed bond funding status, with approximately $50 million remaining from an initial bond issuance and plans to authorize additional bonds to finance the project. An access road contract was recently awarded to facilitate site work. The board discussed potential incentives for contractors to accelerate project completion and plans for future stakeholder workshops to refine design and programming. No public comments were taken during this session.