RivCo Supervisors approve $2.69M for Sheriff’s capital improvement projects

The Board of Supervisors today approved four capital improvement projects initiated by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco at a total estimated cost of $2.69 million.

The sheriff requested -- and the board unanimously authorized -- allocation of funds from the departmental account established at the start of the fiscal year to pay for the projects, the largest of which is a major security upgrade to the lobby entrance at sheriff's headquarters in downtown Riverside.

The price tag, based on best estimates, will come to about $1.1 million, Undersheriff Don Sharp told Supervisor Jose Medina, who sought more details for public transparency.

"The reason for that project is because it's an older building and lacks the type of security we need,'' Sharp said. "We have homeless people and others who are entering, coming through the doors where staff are. It creates problems for employees. This will create a security structure on the first floor."  

The lobby space is currently open, lacking the ballistic "vestibules" behind which employees work on the upper floors of the building.   

Sheriff's officials said the planned renovation calls for knocking down walls, re-arranging plumbing and installing all the security features available elsewhere in the edifice for the purpose of placing more of the sheriff's administrative operations on the first floor to interface with the public.  

The other proposed outlays are roof replacements at the sheriff's Hemet Station and Southwest Station in French Valley, which will altogether require $1.3 million, and repair or replacement of the cooling system in the agency's aviation hub at Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal, which will necessitate a draw of $250,000.   

The sheriff's Project Management Office will be responsible for hiring contractors and supervising the projects from beginning to end. Officials said the contractors will be selected from a vetted, pre-approved list to save time and improve efficiency.

According to Sharp, the funds utilized for each project are available due to unfilled departmental positions for which the board appropriated money in the current fiscal year.