State Delays Awarding of Contract for Death Row

Officials with the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (report) they have delayed awarding a contract for the first phase of the $356 million death row complex at San Quentin State Prison.
The corrections department has notified the three lowest bidders of its intention to “extend the period of award … to allow additional time for the department to brief the new administration on various aspects of the project,” said Paul Verke, a corrections spokesman.
Marin officials are mounting a desperate last stand to prevent the awarding of the contract and kill the project. Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, met … with high-ranking members of the Jerry Brown administration in a bid to enlist the new governor’s support.
The county of Marin has filed suit to stop the contract from begin awarded and the county counsel is prepared to ask a Marin Superior Court judge for a temporary restraining order, if necessary.
The corrections department received nine bids that it opened on Nov. 9. A low bid of $126 million was submitted by McCarthy Building Companies of St. Louis, Mo. The process called for the awarding of a contract no later than 60 days after the opening of the bids. Verke said McCarthy Building companies has, however, agreed to extend its bid to a new deadline.
This story is reprinted with permission from the Marin Independent Journal.