October 14, 2024
by Josh Snyder | Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The review subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council voted Monday to advance a proposed $16.5 million contract with a firm that would serve as a liaison between the state and the construction firm that is ultimately selected to build a proposed 3,000-bed prison.
The proposed contract between the state Department of Corrections and Sacramento, Calif.-based firm Vanir Construction Management Inc. will next go to the full Arkansas Legislative Council for consideration Friday.
Offering professional consultant services, Vanir would be the state Department of Corrections’ “owner’s representative” under the agreement, responsible for ensuring the projects’ needs are met, finished on time and within the approved budget, Corrections Department Chief Financial Officer Chad Brown said in a letter to the board earlier this month.
The annual contract amount is for up to $16,542,424. Of that, $15,860,116 will be for “compensation exclusive of expense reimbursement(s),” identified as “basic services,” according to the proposed contract. The remaining $682,308 would be “reimbursable expenses,” identified in the contract as “travel charges.”
Anne Laidlaw, Division of Building Authority director for the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services, said the consulting fee is based on 3.32% of the estimated cost of the project.
When Rep. Frances Cavenaugh, R-Walnut Ridge, asked about the projected cost for the construction, Laidlaw replied that the agencies had not yet gotten to project design, but based the $16.5 million figure off of “funding that we believe we have available to work with.” According to Laidlaw, the available funding is about $470 million. Laidlaw said the contract with Vanir, if approved, is “not to exceed” $16.5 million, meaning the total cost of the contract could be less than that figure.
Funding for the contract with Vanir would come from $75 million originally intended for an expansion at the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Corrections Department officials have said. Act 84 of 2024, which was signed during the most recent fiscal session, provided appropriation not to exceed $75 million “for costs associated with prison expansion,” according to the legislation.
Rep. Joy Springer, D-Little Rock, asked where the proposed facility would be built. Laidlaw said agencies were still working on selecting a location but that Vanir, if selected, would help the state select the most suitable site and architect for the facility. The agencies have looked at “many, many sites” across the state and are taking into consideration available workforce numbers, access to emergency services and infrastructure, according to Laidlaw.
“There’s quite a bit of criteria,” she said.
The review subcommittee voted to advance the contract without any vocal opposition.
Board of Corrections Chairman Benny Magness declined to comment in a text message on the deal’s progress toward approval, except to say it was “good to hear so we can move forward.”
If approved, Vanir will be involved in the predevelopment phase for the facility through its construction. The firm’s contract would begin Oct. 22 and continue until Oct. 21, 2028, unless it is terminated or canceled early. The contract can be extended or renewed, but will expire no later than Oct. 21, 2031.
The board voted unanimously in June to move forward with a request for qualifications for the owner’s representative role, and approved the proposed contract with Vanir on Oct. 4.
Those who participated in the selection process for the vendor were Board of Corrections Chairman Benny Magness, as well as Corrections Department Secretary Lindsay Wallace, agency attorney Thomas Burns and Assistant Director of Construction and Maintenance Richard Cooper, according to the agency.
The new prison is expected to entail a complex with three separate 1,000-bed facilities that share services, in order to more efficiently provide those services, Corrections Department Secretary Lindsay Wallace told lawmakers during a Joint Budget Committee meeting in March.
Overcrowding in state- and county-level correctional facilities has been an issue in Arkansas for some time, and sparked a feud late last year that resulted in the board firing then-Secretary of Corrections Joe Profiri. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, as well as some lawmakers, have criticized the Board of Corrections at points over what they have described as inaction regarding the overcrowding.
Wallace described increased bed space in the state’s correctional facilities as one of her priorities following the April meeting in which the board confirmed her appointment as the agency’s new leader. The agency has since taken several steps to further increase the available amount of bed space for inmates, such as moving forward with plans to accept a donated work-release center in Mississippi County, transferring some inmates to the Tucker Work Release Facility and planning for additional beds at other sites.
Monday’s consideration of the consulting contract with Vanir also comes just less than a month after members of the review subcommittee expressed alarm over a proposed 10-year, $1.6 billion contract between the Corrections Department and Nashville, Tenn.-based firm Wellpath. Some lawmakers said they were concerned the proposed cost of the bids from the five firms who submitted them were not all considered.
Shortly after the meeting, the Corrections Department rescored all five vendors to include consideration of their cost scores. Even after cost scores were taken into account for the remaining two proposals, the three with the highest technical scores still possessed the highest total score, according to the agency. The Arkansas Legislative Council ultimately approved the Wellpath contract, though the panel also approved several motions meant to alleviate future concerns over procurement processes.
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