Board to Vote on Juvenile Center Firm

Moving another step closer to construction of a state-of-the-art juvenile detention center in Ventura County, supervisors will vote Tuesday on whether to approve a contract with a project management firm.

Supervisors Kathy Long and Judy Mikels, who both sit on a steering committee overseeing the project, will ask the board to approve a $2.19-million contract with Sacramento-based Sverdrup CRSS.

The board will also vote on whether to include a juvenile courthouse in the overall design of the complex, even though the county does not yet have the $10 million necessary to build that portion of the project.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we can find the funding, because we’d really like to do it all at once,” project administrator Joan Splinter said. “But even if we don’t have funding, it’s more cost effective to design the entire thing now.”

Long and Mikels will also ask the board to approve hiring two program assistants to help order furnishings and design the interior. Both county employees would work half time on the juvenile detention center and half time on other county projects.

Sverdrup CRSS would be responsible for overseeing the design and construction of the detention center. The firm would help hire companies to do both and supervise construction on a daily basis. CRSS employees would also provide frequent progress reports to the county and work closely with the state Board of Corrections.

“The firm we selected is absolutely the best,” Long said. “CRSS is the top of the crop.”

The Juvenile Justice Complex Steering Committee considered four companies before narrowing it to two this summer. County officials then interviewed employees, conducted background investigations and visited juvenile justice facilities managed by both companies.

CRSS was chosen for several reasons, county officials said. The company has managed several juvenile detention center projects throughout the nation and recently worked effectively with Ventura County on the Todd Road Jail project. The project management contract would last through August 2003.

“We feel very confident that they will be able to transform our ideas and hopes for the juvenile justice complex into reality,” Splinter said.

Bob Proctor, regional vice president for CRSS, said Friday that Ventura County had not contacted him about the contract. “It’s news to us,” he said. “But we would be very excited, because it’s an important project for us.”

County officials also selected CRSS because of its reputation for completing its jobs on time. Ventura County’s detention center must be open by September 2003 or the county risks losing state funding.

In May, Ventura County received a $40.5-million grant to build the juvenile detention center, which will hold up to 420 offenders--more than twice the number currently housed in four separate facilities. The new center will replace Ventura County’s aging and overcrowded facilities and will enable county officials to provide more counseling for substance abuse and mental health.

The youth detention center is designed to be part of a larger juvenile justice complex, which would include six courtrooms and court-related offices.

The county agreed to contribute $23 million to the jail but now is looking for an additional $10 million in state and federal funding for the courthouse.

County officials said they want to include the courthouse in the design to ensure the best use of the property and so they will be ready to build when they do find the funds.

“If you already have your design done, you are more competitive when you are looking for money,” said Chief Deputy Administrative Officer Terry Dryer.

The county has not yet purchased property for the youth complex. Officials are still considering two industrial properties in El Rio and Saticoy as potential construction sites. The sites are 42 to 50 acres in size, and cost $3 million to $4 million.

County officials plan to start the design process in January, purchase a site by a month after that, and begin construction by June 2001.