$1.3 million needed to repair damages at Criminal Justice Center
Heavy rainfall in May caused significant damage inside the kitchen at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center.
“The damage was mostly in the roof and ceiling,” said Jacqueline Kirby, El Paso County director of information.
The damage is costing the county millions.
“The total damage done to the facility is in the neighborhood of 1.3 million dollars,” said Dave Rose, chief public information officer.
The temporary fix includes two rental kitchens. The cost to operate them is $65,000 a month.
“We’re responsible for operating a safe jail that meets all requirements of the state. That includes a safe place to prepare food free of contamination and mold,” said Kirby.
To do that out of the rentals increases the daily meal price by about 30 cents each.
“It’s a significant cost over the course of two or three more months,” said Kirby.
More than 1,600 people rely on food from the kitchen. It is prepared at the Criminal Justice Center but also served to surrounding buildings like the mental health facility.
“It’s going to a lot of different places. A significant amount of food that needs to be prepared, three times a day,” said Kirby.
El Paso County commissioners are helping to foot the bill. Tuesday, they approved an extra $150,000.
“The county needed to move forward because it’s costly and it’s not the best operation to be running,” said Rose.
Much of the funding will be reimbursed by disaster money from FEMA.
“The county had over 4 million dollars in damage. We’ve had four disaster declarations. That puts us on the map for the most disaster-prone area so far this year than anywhere in the country,” said Rose.
Construction to the kitchen is expected to be done by the first week in October.
