Grayson County Fiscal Court met in a special session Wednesday afternoon and into the evening to hear presentations from four architect/engineering firms that are battling to win the bid to plan and oversee the construction of a multi-million dollar addition to the Grayson County Detention Center.
Each for the four firms — Brandstetter Carroll and CMW Inc., both out of Lexington, JKS Architect/Engineers, of Hopkinsville, and DLZ Architect, Engineering and Planning Corp., out of Louisville and Lexington — was allotted 30 minutes to offer a presentation, and 15 minutes of Q&A with Magistrates.
While no specific design plans were revealed (the process has yet to reach that point), each company’s representatives spoke to the qualifications each has to complete the multi-million dollar project.
Grayson County Judge-Executive Kevin Henderson said after the presentations that each of the four firms will now place monetary bids on the work, which will be unsealed at the next regularly scheduled Fiscal Court meeting on Tuesday, November 28 (bids must be received by Henderson’s office no later than 3:30 p.m., November 27).
At that time, Magistrates will vote on which bid to accept. Henderson noted that the bid language includes that Fiscal Court can reject any bid, and Magistrates do not have to vote for the least expensive bid.
The 35,000 square foot jail addition is being constructed to provide 200 additional beds, allow female inmates to be housed on the main campus, add additional white collar crime cells, and have a separate sally port (where inmates are brought into the facility), kitchen and laundry for female inmates.
The project, unanimously given state approval in early August, is being paid for out of revenue created by the GCDC (and possibly state or federal grants), Kentucky’s only financially self-sufficient jail.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
