An unexpected cost increase for the installation of critical infrastructure for the county’s new jail has the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors wary of things to come.
In April, the board had approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the county and the city of Yreka to reimburse the city for the design and installation of a sewer main and its connections at the proposed site for the new jail project.
The decision was driven in part by the city’s own repaving project on Foothill Drive, which runs adjacent to the proposed jail site.
Once the new pavement is in place, the city will institute a moratorium on cutting into it, meaning that the county would incur the costs of repairing the road if it waits until after the city’s work is done.
At that time, county staff estimated that the cost would be $100,000.
On Tuesday, the supervisors were asked to approve the project with a new price of $226,597, which was determined by the bids received from construction firms.
The price increase caused a stir for some on the board, including District 3 Supervisor Michael Kobseff.
He said that he believes the current bid – and others on future projects – will all come in higher than necessary in response to the county’s somewhat desperate position.
To address the issue of the additional cost, County Administrative Officer Terry Barber presented the board with three potential options.
The first would be to pull $126,597 out of the county’s Accumulated Capital Outlay fund, which currently has $600,000 for capital projects.
The other two options both presented deferment scenarios, with the city of Yreka absorbing the up front costs and the county reimbursing them either upon the sale or development of two attached parcels.
Kobseff and Board Chair Ed Valenzuela argued that the county should pay the entire amount up front, keeping the county from dealing with additional debts in the future.
The board voted unanimously to take that option, and the ACO account will supplement the $100,000 already approved in April for the project.
The jail itself is still an unknown for the county, as it waits on the outcome of additional funding through state legislation.
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