The Ector County Commissioners are scheduled to take the next step in building its new juvenile center.
Ector County Judge Debi Hays said Tuesday’s agenda item includes approve, reject, discuss or take any necessary action regarding the competitive sealed proposals on the construction of the Juvenile Justice Center.
That agenda will be heard as the commissioners meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the commissioners courtroom at the Ector County Administration Annex, Room 120, 1010 East Eighth St.
“We are going through the process of giving the purchasing department permission to go out for bids for that,” Hays said.
Hays said that after several months of meetings about interior and exterior designs that she’s excited the project is moving into the construction talks phase.
The hope that Hays has for the Juvenile Justice Center is for it to not only be a detention facility for Ector County youth, but to be a rehabilitation center for those individuals and also be able to give them vocational skills.
“We want to be able to turn around our youth in a direction of not crime, but to be self sufficient and to be able to provide for themselves with a trade,” Hays said.
Ector County Juvenile Probation Director Kevin Mann on Monday morning said he’s excited the new juvenile center is starting to become more of a reality.
Mann said with the reality of the new juvenile center coming also means staffing the new facility.
“The time table is still opening up sometime in 2024,” Mann said. “I don’t know if that’s going to be spring or summer. Once these bids come in and they award that, it will give us a bigger picture when we can start nailing down that time frame. We have to start planning, operationally, how we are going to operate this new facility. We have to look at what staffing levels we need.”
Mann explained the current juvenile center doesn’t house post-adjudicated juveniles as those are contracted out to other facilities in Texas. He said the average cost per post-adjudicated juvenile is $197 per day. Mann said there are also limited places for those juveniles to be housed as they are being sent to the Dallas or Houston area.
With the construction of the new juvenile center, Mann said the post-adjudicated juveniles will be brought back to Ector County. Mann said as of Monday morning there are eight juveniles from Ector County around the state for post adjudication. He said that number has been as high as 30 during the last year.
“We won’t have to contract these kids out for $200 a day and they will be here in our community where they need to be,” Mann said. “They will be where their parents are. They will be where their families are.”
The court also is scheduled:
>> To conduct a public hearing to consider a Tax Abatement Application and to consider, discuss, and take any necessary action to approve a Proposed Agreement with 1PointFive P1, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and authorize the County Judge and County Commissioners to sign.
>> To consider, discuss, and take any necessary action regarding a request from Downtown Odessa, Inc. to utilize the Ector County Courthouse parking lot for the annual Firecracker Fandango festival on July 2.
>> To award, reject, discuss, or take any other actions regarding the AIA Change Order #1 and the Certificate of Substantial Completion for the Sheriff’s Office Additions and to ratify the County Judge’s signature.
>> To consider, discuss, and take any necessary action regarding Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. HHS000812700018 between the Department of State Health Services and Ector County and authorize the County Judge to sign
>> To consider, discuss, and take any necessary action on Kidd Heights a subdivision of 131.78 acres of land situated in Section 13, Block 44, T-2-S, T&P Railway Company Survey, Ector County, Texas (Precinct 1) and authorize the County Judge to sign.
>> To review, consider, discuss, approve, and take any necessary action regarding the following proposed Consent Agenda:
>> To consider, discuss, and approve a line item transfer to Self-Funded Liability Insurance Fund, Claims Expenses, 032-960-5382 for $20,449 from Contract Services, 032-960-5309 for $5,000, from Terrorism Insurance, 032-960-5376 for $5,449 and from County Legal Fees, 032-960-5334 for $10,000.
>> To consider, discuss, and approve a line item transfer to General Fund, Senior Center, Special Department Equipment, 001-630-5507 for $14,376 and to Departmental Furniture & Equipment, 001-630-5199 for $4,879 from Contract Services, 001-630-5309 for $19,255.
>> To consider and approve the Accounts Payable Fund Requirements Report for April 26, 2022 to review County financial statements and reports.
>> To consider and discuss legal matters pursuant to Title 5, Chapter 551, Section 551.071, Texas Government Code.
>> To consider and discuss real estate issues/transactions pursuant to Title 5, Chapter 551, Section 551.072, Texas Government Code.
>> To consider and discuss personnel matters pursuant to Title 5, Chapter 551, Section 551.074, Texas Government Code.
