On Thursday (November 29) the Miami-Dade Chairmans Policy Council will consider a resolution to review the need for a new detention facility and whether it should be a P3 qualifying project.
Esteban Bovo, chair of the Board of County Commissioners, is the prime sponsor of the resolution, which has called for a recommendation to be brought to the board within 60 days.
The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCR) operates the eighth largest jail system in the US, housing between 4,300 to 4,500 persons daily in four detention facilities.
The resolution states that a review of the Turner, Guilford, Knight Correctional Center and the Metro West Detention Center may provide additional savings which may be used for construction of a new facility.
A larger more efficient detention facility would allow for savings in operations and maintenance costs that can be used to fund future availability payments for new construction.
The county and the MDCR are asked to refer to a recent request for qualifications issued by the State of Kansas for the construction of a new detention center, where it specified baseline standards and requirements associated with the development of a new correctional facility.
Staff at Miami Dade County confirmed to P3 Bulletin recently that the project for correctional facilities is in the early stages and they are drafting a master plan.
It has also been confirmed the next Competitive Selection Committee is scheduled for December 10, when the shortlisting for the Civil and Probate Courthouse project is expected to occur. Five teams submitted bids for the P3 contract.
In October Barclays’s infrastructure and project finance team provided a presentation on P3 models and best practices for commissioners to note should the county pursue a P3 model for a new correctional facility.