COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County Board of Commissioners tabled a decision on who is going to be the architect for the new Branch County Jail during a special work session on Tuesday afternoon in order to gather more information on the kind of design for the new facility.
The Commissioners tabled the matter until Thursday’s work session which starts at 2:00 p.m..
It’s estimated the cost of building the new jail will be at least $22 million. It’s being made possible after Branch County voters approved a millage question last August.
Representatives from four architectural firms were interviewed by the Commissioners last Thursday.
According to an interview evaluation form, Byce-Securiture and Associates out of Kalamazoo had the best score with BKV Group and Tower Pinkster tied for second and Elevatus Architecture close behind. The evaluation covered such areas as relevance and experience, qualifications and quality of the proposal.
But Elevatus Architecture submitted the lowest jail evaluation fee of $948,500 for a modified prototype jail which was about $301,000 less than Byce-Securiture’s fee proposal. They were the only company to submit a bid for a prototype jail. It would also be about $363,000 less than a so-called custom built jail according to a second bid submitted by Elevatus.
County Administrator Bud Norman said according to a recommendation from legal counsel, if the Commissioners were interested in a prototype jail they should ask the other three firms if they were interested in bidding on such a jail.
Sheriff John Pollack is expected to present a list of items his department would like to see in the new jail during Thursday’s meeting.
