Money approved for jail kitchen schematic

Add the threat of shutting down the kitchen to the litany of problems incurred at the Curry County Adult Detention Center.

A New Mexico Environment Department inspection discover a series of violations at the jail kitchen, most dealing with an outdated and deteriorating cement floor.

The county commission discussed options Tuesday for dealing with the problem. None of the solutions were simple as the jail doesn't have the luxury of not serving meals to inmates.

After discussion on the matter, the commission allowed Administrator Gerry Billy to make a $12,500 budget transfer to pay for a schematic and cost model for the construction of new kitchen and laundry facilities — a job of at least $2.5 million, which the commission would have to later consider paying for through cash reserves.

Billy told commissioners that during the May 23 county commission meeting, the NMED had an inspection of the kitchen and found seven high-risk violations, four moderate-risk violations and two low-risk violations — enough, Billy said, that the NMED would have shut the kitchen down had it not been the only source of meals for hundreds of prisoners.

Billy gave five options for dealing with the kitchen, and a concrete floor in need of replacement:

• Close down the kitchen to gut it out, and move in portable equipment during the interim, at a cost of $25,000 per month. That would just cover the equipment, Billy said, and not the utilities or the food procurement.
• Contract food service to a local catering company. Billy doubts any provider would be interested, due to an order of approximately 775 meals per day with variances for special diets.
• Contract food service through a local restaurant, which Billy thought was a bad idea for the same reasons.
• Do nothing — an option Billy always puts in, but said was unrealistic.
• Present a comprehensive action plan to the NMED, asking for an extension in trade for a clear plan of how the kitchen will be fixed. He estimated the action plan would cost $12,500 for an outside company to draft.

The kitchen, Billy said, could continue to run under a variance while construction took place for kitchen, laundry and two programming spaces at the jail.

Those items, along with increased inmate housing, were part of a $9.3 million bond rejected by voters in March.

Commissioner Caleb Chandler had concerns that if the commission committed to the $12,500 for the cost model, it would obligate itself to later approve the big bill for renovations or end up spending $12,500 for nothing. Billy said the schematic would be something of use for the commission whether they OK'd the improvements, and that other options were much more cost-prohibitive.

Commission Chairman Wendell Bostwick asked counsel if the commission could approve the budget transfer, and also give him control to approve the contract for the schematic, as the commission doesn't have another regular meeting until July 24.

County Attorney Steven Doerr said the commission would have to approve that contract, and Bostwick said he'd call a special meeting if necessary.

The construction, Billy estimated, would take six months and would require the closure of the block of Ninth Street north of the jail, but not come onto the property of neighboring businesses.

Sandoval said such an option needs to go through many other bodies first, including the county's detention committee and the Clovis city commission, which would have to handle the street closure call.