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Commissioners Brown & Bailey - Office of Capital Improvements - To Authorize the County Manager, or His Designee, to Execute a Professional Services Contract with Moseley for the Gaston County Jail Needs & Conditions Assessment
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STAFF CONTACT
Ray Maxwell, P.E. - Executive Director of Capital Projects - 704-862-7551
BUDGET IMPACT
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BACKGROUND
The Gaston County Jail, located at 425 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Gastonia North Carolina, was designed and built in the late 1990’s. The 182,514 sf Jail serves as the primary detention facility for the County’s law enforcement agencies. Currently, Gaston County's jail has a capacity of 664 beds between the main jail and jail annex. The Assessment will provide the County and Sheriff’s Office with a comprehensive understanding of future facility needs, detention capacity needs and provide recommendations in response to projected growth and service demands. Facility maintenance needs and a growing population underscore the importance of developing comprehensive maintenance and expansion plans that meet the needs of the inmate population and supervision requirements of the Sheriff’s Office.
North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) §143-64.31 requires the initial solicitation and evaluation of firms to perform architectural, engineering, surveying, construction management-at-risk services, and design-build services (collectively “design services”) to be based on qualifications and without regard to fee. NCGS §143-64.32 authorizes units of local government to exempt contracts for design services from the qualifications-based selection requirements of NCGS §143-64.31 if the estimated fee is less than $50,000. However, the design fees for this project will exceed the $50,000 cap for exemption, thereby requiring the architect to be selected through the qualifications-based process.
Office of Capital Improvements staff developed a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) packet for the Gaston Jail Needs and Conditions Assessment in accordance with the statutory requirements and publicly advertised the RFQ beginning on October 2, 2025. Statements of Qualification (SOQ) submittals were received on October 23, 2025. The three (3) firms submitting SOQ’s were:
• Little & Hemphill-Randel
• Moseley
• Stewart Cooper Newell & Nelson
After reviewing the SOQs, the selection committee deemed Moseley to be the best qualified for the Gaston County Jail Needs and Conditions Assessment.
Approval of this Board Action by the Gaston County Board of Commissioners officially selects Moseley for the Gaston Jail Needs & Conditions Assessment. Further, approval of this Board Action authorizes the County Attorney to negotiate and draft the necessary contract documents for the work and authorizes the County Manager, or his designee, to execute said contracts.
POLICY IMPACT
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ATTACHMENTS
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