Discussion and possible action to authorize the Purchasing Agent to solicit request for proposals for the donation and/or purchase of a tract of land with water and sewer access and containing not less than One Hundred (100) acres for the construction of the Webb County Jail and Law Enforcement Complex Center. The process to accept donation and/or to purchase land for the construction of a new Webb County Jail and Law Enforcement Complex Center is contingent upon the availability of funding and final approval by Commissioners Court.
Issue: The current Jail facility was built in 1986/1987 and is quickly reaching 30 years of service, with the rapid growth in our Community in the past decades the increase in criminal justice system demands due to crime and subsequent arrests tend to grow with population spikes. Since 1990 Webb County/City of Laredo population figures have increased by more than 100% from 122,899 to our current census figure from 2010 at 250,304. Combining our neighboring Sister City (Nuevo Laredo, Mexico) the estimated population is 636,516. These population spikes contribute to the demand of additional Jail bed spaces as criminals await trial, serve sentences at the local level or wait to be transferred to the States custody.
Solution: Securing land proposals for a new Jail facility site will provide options for jail site, access availability to major interstates, access to utilities, existing infrastructure and other costs associated with selecting a land site such as cost per acreage.
Result: Selection of land site will serve as an anchor to move forward with RFQ for Design build teams and proposals on how to finance overall project to include any costs associated with land acquisition.
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