The Colusa County Detention and Treatment Facility, the name that will be given to the new jail on Bridge Street, is not some long-forgotten project, despite years of planning.
Steps to replace the Sheriff’s Office 1960s facility have been underway since 2015, when Colusa County was awarded $20 million in state funding.
Although the project has been fraught with delays, the project is back on track for 2023 construction, officials said.
The county plans to build a separate, stand-alone facility on county-owned land east of the existing jail, which will provide 96 detention beds in podular-style housing units, said Colusa County Assistant Sheriff Michael Bradwell.
The estimated cost to construct the new jail is now $20.6 million, up from $17 million originally, and will be largely funded by money committed by the state under SB 863.
“We do have and received one proposal that is being processed,” Bradwell reported to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Bradwell said the new facility will not only upgrade and improve operational efficiency of the jail, but would be well-equipped and affordable to manage.
The jail will also include a variety of program treatment rooms, located in each housing unit, a new medical and dental clinic, a small pod with safety cells and a respiratory isolation cell. The jail will also have a new retherm kitchen with state-of-the art equipment to bring prepared food up to safe temperatures, as well as store cold foods.
Bradwell said the new jail will accommodate medium and maximum-security inmates in a mix of double-cells and dormitories in tiered pods.
The project includes the relocation of underground utilities and stormwater management.
Completing the jail is not without new challenges, Bradwell said.
“The challenges we are facing are what everybody in every community is facing: inflation and supply chain,” Bradwell said. “That has drastically impacted our project at this time.”
Bradwell said the Sheriff’s Office’s goal is to work collaboratively with their partners to successfully complete a project that will be a benefit to the county.
The Colusa County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss and possibly approve the proposal/design build entity at a special meeting on Nov. 21. ■