Following the approval from the Hockley County Commissioners Court, the Hockley County Jail is in the early phases of undergoing major plumbing repairs.
During the March 11 regular meeting, the court considered and eventually approved awarding the bid for the request for qualifications for the design build firm for the jail renovation of jail or shower stalls.
Hockley County Sheriff Ray Scifres explained that the court essentially approved the overall project allowing him to begin the information gathering process.
“Now we’re in the phase of collecting information about who the contractors will be, what the work bids are gonna be, what steps are going to go into the project, what is the time frame and when will it be done,” explained Scifres. “There will probably be a line item for cameras as there will be lines running through them and we have to know what that will cost ahead of time.”
Scifres added that he will most likely have to go back to the court to receive the green light for the project to move forward after presenting all the necessary information that is currently being collected.
“Over the next few days and a couple of weeks all this information will be compiled and it’ll have to go back to the commissioners to say what we’re going to do and here’s how we’re going to pay for it,” said Scifres.
Operating out of a facility that is roughly 40-years-old, updates become a necessity. Structurally, he believes the building is in good shape. He explained that what is found with a building that old is having to address the underground things.
“You have the plumbing which includes the cast iron, the mains, the lines that go up into the showers and that go up into the commodes along the clean outs,” said Scifres. “You run into those plumbing issues, which happens with a the facility that is used everyday of the year. It just ages very quickly.”
Scifres emphasized the repairs are not considered a construction project since they are not adding anything new.
“We are not altering the existing facility other than a 1:1 replacement on the showers themselves,” explained Scifres. “Over time you will have some drainage issues and you will have issues with the moisture. We’re not carrying anything out like a construction project. This project is a plumbing repair. As they get into these showers and they start removing the cabinet, what we’re looking at is when that comes out you have a gap between the floor and the base of the shower.”
The next stage will consist of an assessment of every one of the lines in the jail. They will be looking to see if there are any blockages, fail points or anything needing to be repaired or replaced within those physical lines. Once they get to that point, they can phase out the project.
“We’re going to have to map it out and decide which section to start in,” said Scifres. “One section of the jail will depopulate for a certain number days while the repairs are being done and then we’re going to basically be rotating inmates around through the back of the of the multioccupancy housing areas and in the hallway cells.”
In the best case scenario, a phasing project could last four to five months, according to Scifres. However, it could take as long as nine months depending on what is found in the plumbing.
“One particular stage could take a couple of weeks in one part of the jail and this other stage could take a couple of weeks or more. Getting a phasing plan is key to ensure that what we are doing in one portion of the jail will not affect the entirety of the jail,” explained Scifres. “If we are working in one isolated area of the building where there’s no inmates, we need the water to flow in different sections so we can still operate our kitchen or change out rooms in the front.”
Once Scifres and his team compile all their information and receive the green light from the county commissioners, the still cannot move forward with the repair project until they receive the final green light from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. He explained that the jail commission must sign off on the detailed outline of the phasing plan.
“We are charged by the jail commission to run a sanitary environment that is free from disease and free from sickness,” said Scifres. “We clean and disinfect every area of this jail every day.”
When it comes to sanitation, Scifres must look at what leaves. Is water backing up in showers, are the not toilets flushing and the sinks not draining? If there are those issues, where does that lie? Is it in the physical shower, is it in the physical commode or is this an underground problem. Scifres must determine where the problem stems from.
“The jail commission lays out anything related to any alterations in the jail or anything related to construction projects, again which this is not,” stated Scifres. “However, we have to give them a plan of phases if it affects inmate movements, the possibility of inmate health and safety or sanitation. Any of those things, we have to account for.”
He explained that the jail commission wants to ensure that inmate health and safety along with wellness is not compromised because the county is working on repairs in one section of the jail. In turn, Scifres will put the phasing plan together and send the commission the maps along with all the inmate movements.
“We essentially send them basically everything related to this project from beginning to end and we give them the best case and worst case scenario for review,” said Scifres. “From there, their construction people and compliance folks all look at the plans and decided if we are good to go.”
If there are any alterations that occur through any part of the process following the approval from the commission, Scifres must notify them and then they will review those alterations.
Discussing with the county commissioners, Scifres feels that this is a good step to take to ensure the facility will have increased longevity.
“If we put these new showers in these new cabinets and the lines are still the problem we haven’t fixed anything,” explained Scifres. “Talking to the architect, he said you add years to the life of the building by doing this work in the plumbing. It can impact the building as a whole positively and you can add years of life to the existing facility because we’ve said it for years, the plumbing was going to be the problem.”
Knowing that plumbing would be an issue, Scifres applauded the maintenance workers for fixing issues when they arose. Moving forward, Scifres is working to have all his responsibilities in order by the end of the year for the incoming sheriff whom will be decided following the May runoff election.
“We don’t to have to go back and do this again when the next sheriff comes in behind me,” said Scifres. “I think every effort is being made between all of the contract employees. The folks that are talking to us about all this in the planning stages have the idea that we want to get this done right and efficiently as possible because there is going to be an impact on the county.”
With the desire of being fiscally responsible, Scifres and the county want to make sure that they have a reduced the fiscal impact because the move of inmates to other facilities will be necessary. Additionally, Scifres explained that it puts strain on his guys having to transporting in mates back and forth.
“We’re trying to minimize that as much as possible by doing this the right way on the first go. We don’t want to have to do this again in a year,” said Scifres. “At the end of the year, when I give my set of keys to the incoming sheriff I want to say, you’ve got a brand new plumbing system in the jail, everything looks good your facility, your staffing is good, programs are good and you’re ready to roll.”