$15M Consulting Deal Sought By Sheriff's Dept. OK'd In RivCo

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a 10-year, $15 million consulting contract sought by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for management of the flow of construction projects required by the agency.

In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board authorized the sheriff's department, in coordination with the Department of Facilities Management, to retain the services of Greenville, South Carolina-based Gordian Group Inc.

The contract will commence immediately and is slated to sunset at the end of 2033.

Under the agreement terms, Gordian Group's consultants will be tasked with overseeing the sheriff's job order contract (JOC) system.

"The sheriff ... uses JOC to deliver qualified projects expeditiously without compromising quality, and the program reduces overhead cost of public works procurement, minimizes change orders and creates more efficient cost estimating," according to a statement posted to the board's agenda Tuesday.

Gordian Group will be centrally involved in assisting the sheriff's department with placing projects out for bid, making informational presentations to prospective bidders, creating and supplying sheriff's administrators and Department of Facilities Management staff with "unit price books" to reflect real costs of "each of the individual construction tasks" tied to capital projects, as well as vetting prospective bidders and setting up platforms that enable county personnel to track the progress of projects.

The firm will be paid on a delayed schedule, submitting invoices to the sheriff's department monthly, according to the agreement.

The $15 million is a not-to-exceed figure, and if the payout ceiling is reached before the end of 2033, the contract with Gordian Group could be abrogated. However, it could also be amended, documents stated.

The JOC system has been in place and used by county agencies since November 2006.
The sheriff's budget will cover 50% of contract costs, while the remainder will be paid through other county funds, officials said.