A seven-person community committee will be tasked with ranking the architecture consulting services for the proposed Okeechobee County Jail Renovation and Expansion Project.

Each county commissioner will name one primary committee member and one alternate.
The sheriff will also serve on the committee and will choose the seventh committee member.

According to the staff report at the June 13 county commission meeting, the county has advertised for architectural consulting services of the Okeechobee County Jail Renovation and Expansion Project.

Due to the size and funding and expense of this project, the county administrator said she believes the commissioners and the citizens need to have involvement from the community. By having community involvement in the decision-making process, citizens have a say in quality, it builds support for the project and raises political awareness to the decisions government has to make for the betterment of the community as a whole, the staff support states.

The facilities maintenance and development service director will moderate the meetings.

The committee would be tasked with evaluating, receiving presentations, ranking and recommending to the county commission their selection of an architectural firm.

In accordance to the county’s procurement policy, should the board desire to change the ranking of the PSEC, all responses to the request for qualifications would require review by the board and firms would make a formal presentation and then the board can rank the firms.