Commission approves $500,000 transfer to let Concordia juvenile detention project award contract

Members of the commission received in-person quarterly reports on projects funded under the program created by the act and voted to temporarily transfer $500,000 from the New Jetson Center for Youth project to the Concordia Parish Sheriff's Office Juvenile Detention Center project to permit Concordia to issue a construction contract.

The vote was moved by Representative Bacalhau and seconded by Christopher Walters of the Office of the Governor; the commission adopted the transfer by unanimous consent with six members present, allowing Concordia to proceed while staff plan to seek a backfill in next session’s budget. Roger Husser and Matt Baker presented the budget overview and the recommendation to reassign funds.

Why it matters: Concordia’s project received bids that exceeded its $3 million authorization; staff and the grantee said value engineering reduced the gap but the project remained about $500,000 short. Commissioners said a temporary reallocation from the state-funded Jetson project—where capital outlay covers most costs—would let Concordia keep the low bid and avoid rebidding at likely higher prices.

Matt Baker, director of the Office of Facility Planning & Control and RFQ coordinator, told the commission that at this early stage actual expenditures across the portfolio are low because most projects are in design. "Construction is expected to begin at various points in 2026 and 2027," Baker said. He also provided project-level financial details included in the meeting packet:

- New Jetson Center for Youth: total budget reported as $68,715,440, with $16,000,000 provided through the program; $1,114,262.45 expended to date. Contracts encumbered include designer and a construction manager-at-risk.

- Central Louisiana Juvenile Detention Center: total budget listed as $38,978,880, with $37,978,880 provided through the program; FP&C had concurred in contracts totaling $2,195,812.78 and reimbursed $0 to date.

- River Parishes Regional Juvenile Detention Center: total budget listed as $36,615,100, fully funded through the program; FP&C had concurred in no contracts and reimbursed $0 to date.

- Concordia Parish Sheriff's Office Juvenile Detention Center: total budget listed as $3,000,000, fully funded through the program; FP&C had concurred in contracts totaling $159,327 and reimbursed $103,562.55 to date. Concordia officials said their low bid initially exceeded the budget by roughly $700,000; value engineering reduced that to about $500,000 over budget.

- Tangipahoa Parish work release dormitory: presenters described a planned new dormitory on parish-owned property with a projected capacity of about 180 work-release residents and potential expansion, and said construction is expected to begin in 2026. (Budget figures for this project were inconsistent in the packet and in oral remarks and are not specified here.)

Jason Starnes, undersecretary for the Office of Juvenile Justice, said the New Jetson Center will be a 72-bed facility on state-owned property and that the agency has contracted Arkel Construction as the CMAR. "We are anticipating construction to actually start groundbreaking as early as March '26," Starnes said. Starnes and other presenters discussed pod sizes and operational considerations; Representative Muscarello raised concerns about pod size and staffing costs, and OJJ and other grantees said smaller pods are being used for separation and safety reasons.

Craig Webber, Lafourche Parish sheriff and grantee for the River Parishes regional center, described administrative steps taken after legislation changed the district’s authorizing language. He said the project team plans to execute professional services contracts soon and pursue an owner's representative; he said the facility location would be on donated property adjacent to a 2019 adult facility in Thibodaux and that the project team hopes to design by April and begin construction soon afterward.

Candace Sledge, speaking for the Concordia project, described a faster schedule: because Concordia already owned a usable facility, it completed design and a public bid process and plans to break ground Nov. 17, with a 10-month completion target. Sledge said Concordia has already acquired bunks and other furnishings in anticipation of construction.

Christopher Walters summarized the Integrated Criminal Justice Information System (ICGIS) program, noting $5,000,000 had been allocated to an ICGIS policy board to improve data sharing among prosecutors, courts, sheriffs, state police and other partners. Walters said work is underway on disposition-error reports and data exchanges between clerks and state police, and that the legislature has required future systems to meet minimum ICGIS standards to improve compatibility.

Discussion and action: Roger Husser and Baker recommended shifting $500,000 from the Jetson project—where most costs are covered by other capital-outlay funding—to Concordia to permit issuance of a construction contract. Baker and other staff said the Jetson project could be backfilled during the next legislative session without increasing total fund appropriations. Representative Bacalhau moved the transfer; Walters seconded, and the commission approved by unanimous consent.

The commission closed with standard recordkeeping instructions for presenters and adjourned. Further written quarterly reports will be distributed unless the commission schedules another in-person meeting.