At Tuesday's County Commission Meeting, Commissioners heard a request for action on a possible agreement with North Central Juvenile Detention for architect funding.
Request for Action
On February 21, the Commission met in study session to consider the future of County facilities. One of the items in the discussion was the future of the current jail facility after the new jail opens this fall. Recommendations from the County’s facility master plan indicated juvenile detention as a possible future reuse of this space.
On April 25, the County Administrator reported back to the Commission on four items that had been discussed in February, one of which was discussions with the Executive Director of the North Central Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Facility and Geary County Secure Care Center (the agency) on the potential for conversion of a portion of the jail space to juvenile use, both for detention and for secure care. At that time, the County Administrator indicated that the agency had requested that Saline County split the cost of an architectural study on jail reuse with the agency. The Commission ultimately directed staff to proceed “to identify funding for an architect, negotiate an agreement with [the agency] to share costs, and return to the Commission for consideration.”
The agreement, prepared in conjunction with County Counselor Mike Montoya, would allow for the reimbursement of one-half the cost of an architect engaged by the agency, up to a maximum of $25,000, to complete a study by November 30 of this year. The agreement has now been approved by the agency’s attorney and executed. Staff requested that the Commission authorize the Chairman to sign it.
Budget Impact
This item was not included within Saline County’s adopted budget for 2023. Staff recommended paying for it from General Fund Appropriations, which is expected to have more than $25,000 in unspent funds during the current fiscal year.
The motion was approved 4-0. Commissioner Hay was not present.
