Bids on a project to overhaul the failing control system at Westmoreland County Prison have come in "a little bit over" the $2 million target.
Deputy Warden Steve Cmar said three bids were submitted this week. He said the proposed costs are close to each other but exceed the amount of money the commissioners said they were willing to spend after rejecting a round of more expensive proposals last month.
"It's just a little bit over that," Cmar said, declining to go into specifics. Warden John Walton was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
The prison was manually locked down on July 5 because of a malfunction in the control system that made the automatic cell locks fail. While the system throughout most of the prison was restored by the next day, Cmar said, the first floor remained down until last Friday.
The system, original to the 13-year-old Hempfield Township lockup, required parts that have become obsolete, Cmar explained.
"Everything's been back up, and it's running good," he said. "If it goes down again, we'll go back to keys."
Cmar said county officials are reviewing the overhaul proposals. The county commissioners have final say over who gets the contract.
The commissioners last month rejected a $2.7 million bid to install a security and surveillance system, saying they intend to spend no more than $2 million.
Yesterday, Commissioner Phil Light said if the bids came in slightly above the target, the project could still be managed as long as the cost is justified.
"We may have to ask if there's anything that can be modified to reduce the cost," Light said. "I'm assuming if they're in the ballpark, then we're going to do it because it needs to be done."
The system overhaul is expected to take six months.
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