PRINEVILLE, OR -- Shortly after voters approved a jail bond, two weeks ago, Crook County officials were moving fast to get the project underway. Sheriff John Gautney is encouraged by the early progress. "The county has put out an RFP – a request for proposal – for contractors to look at. We’ve had a pre-proposal meeting, where contractors came and met with the county. And, now we’re waiting for them [RFPs] to come back in."
He expects to have a contractor selected by mid-December, "There’s got to be design work done. And then there’s got to be some infrastructure work done; sewer lines and water lines and things like have got to be moved and reinstalled. We’ll get that done ahead of time, I believe, and then preparation of the property." Sheriff Gautney says site prep and infrastructure will take several months. Actual construction of the $17 million facility is scheduled to begin next October.