Commissioners to tour new jail Tuesday
By Steve Herring
Published in News on September 5, 2016 1:46 PM
Wayne County commissioners on Tuesday will tour the Carey A. Winders Detention Center that is scheduled to open in October.
The $10 million facility is named in memory of Winders, who served as sheriff for nearly 20 years. Winders, 57, died unexpectedly in January 2014.
Tuesday's meeting will begin with an agenda briefing at 8 a.m. followed by the formal session at 9 a.m. Both will be held in the commissioners' meeting room on the fourth floor of the Wayne County Courthouse.
The 38,500-square-foot, single-story, 218-bed jail is located on county-owned property on North William Street.
The public entryway faces North William Street.
It was designed by Moseley Architects of Raleigh and is being built by Daniels and Daniels Construction Co. of Goldsboro.
The county is paying cash for the jail that is the first phase of a larger envisioned judicial center that includes construction of a larger jail that will be connected to the satellite jail through a secure corridor.
No money has been earmarked, nor timetable established, for that project.
The jail has three dorm-style wings, each capable of housing 64 inmates, and one wing of 15 double cells.
There are two control rooms, each able to monitor two wings.
Once occupied, the county is expecting to eliminate the nearly $900,000 it is now paying annually to house inmates in other county jails because of chronic overcrowding at the existing jail.
Instead, the county anticipates having extra space that it can rent to other counties.
The jail includes areas for medical screening and for attorneys to meet with clients and a warming kitchen. The county contracts with a company to prepare the meals.
County Manager George Wood said it was not feasible to build a full kitchen at the satellite jail when just years from now the larger jail will be built that would include a kitchen large enough to accommodate both facilities.
Also on the agenda Tuesday, the board will consider authorizing Wood to negotiate a contract with SEPI Engineering for the Canterbury Village and North Creek subdivision street improvement projects.
The contract will be for the full design, bid documents, contract documents and inspection services for the projects.
Commissioners approved a resolution at their Aug. 16 meeting directing Wood to proceed with the project using a special assessment on property owners in the subdivisions to pay for the work.
The next step is to hire an engineering firm to develop the full design from the preliminary engineering reports created by SEPI Engineering.
Since the cost will be more than $50,000, state law requires that the county issue a request for qualifications.
"To cut down on the lead time, we had advertised this RFQ before the vote was taken, and have now interviewed the finalist firms," Wood said in a memo to commissioners. "We have selected SEPI Engineering based upon their qualifications, and the fact that they had prepared the preliminary report, and therefor were extremely familiar with the project.
"We believe their knowledge of the project will save us money as they don't have to review their own report, or possibly duplicate some field tests (such as asphalt borings). We were also impressed with the work product from the preliminary engineering report."
In other business, the board will consider motions to approve:
* Senior Center Month proclamation. Services on Aging Director Paula Edwards will read the proclamation and will introduce Rob Phillips, the new Senior Center program manager, and give an update on the activities at the Senior Center during Senior Center Month.
* Resolution accepting the tax settlement with Wayne County Tax Administrator Alan Lumpkin from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016. This is an annual requirement.
* Order directing Tax Collector Alan Lumpkin to collect the taxes charged in the tax records and receipts and to collect taxes delivered to him according to schedule. This is an annual requirement.
* Resolution to apply for Merger/Regionalism Feasibility Grant assistance for a sewer study. Wayne County is applying for grant assistance to study a region sewer within the county for Eureka, Fremont, Goldsboro and Wayne County.
Commissioners also will be updated on the county's medical plan.
Public comments will be taken at 9:15 a.m. Speakers will have four minutes to make their comments.
Items on the consent agenda include: Applications for Disabled Veteran Exclusion; application for Elderly or Disabled Exclusion; September is National Mental and Substance Disorders Recovery Month proclamation; Constitution Day and Citizenship Day and Constitution Week in 2016 Proclamation; appointment of Gerald G. Johnson to the Little River Fire Protection District Commission; establish a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, on a proposed road name; establish a Wayne County Board of Adjustment meeting for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, for public comments on a special use permit for the proposed Millers Chapel Solar Farm, LLC, 660 Millers Chapel Road; Health Department patient fees, eligibility and bad debt write-off policy revisions; convey 38.33 aces in ParkEast to the Wayne County Development Alliance; and budget amendments.