Commissioners Court Meeting

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Meeting Date:	06/26/2017
Solicitations for Land - Jail Project
Submitted for:	Joe Lopez	Submitted By:	Joe Lopez
Department:	Purchasing

Subject:

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 containing at minimum Fifty (50) acres up to Eighty (80) 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. [Requested by Martin Cuellar, Sheriff]

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: Final selection of a land site for future construction of a new jail will provide the needed information on what additional costs will be required to move this project forward.

Background:

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.

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.

Previous Court Action:

Approval by Commissioners Court on May 8, 2017, to order an election for the proposed funding of a new Webb County jail facility and authorize the placing of a referendum on the ballot for an election to occur in conjunction with the November 7, 2017 constitutional amendment election; and authorize the County Elections Administrator to conduct said referendum election in accordance with and pursuant to the Texas Election Code; and any other matters incident thereto.

Fiscal Impact

Budget Account Number:	TBD
Funding Source:	TBD
Balance:	TBD
Financial Impact:
The Purchasing Agent has funding in his budget to cover the expense of the public notice. No other expenses are required at this time.