The Whipping Post Take on SB County Board of Supervisors

COUNTY COOLS ITS HEELS: $138M JAIL EXPANSION (EVENTUALLY) GETS GREEN LIGHT!

After eighteen long years of navel-gazing, our industrious supervisors have finally decided the North Branch Jail might actually need more space for all the 'misunderstood' individuals their policies

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7/2/2026 · Inspired by “Consider recommendations regarding the North Branch Jail Expansion Project Award Agreement for Design Build Services; Project No. 23040, Fifth District, as follows: (4/5 Vote Required) a) Approve and authorize the Chair to execute the Agreement for Design Build Services with Sletten Construction Company, a Montana Corporation, to provide Design and Construction services for the new North Branch Jail Expansion project, located at 2301 Black Road, Santa Maria, CA 93455 (APN 113-210-022/024), in an amount not to exceed $138,650,000.00; b) Approve and authorize the Director of General Services, or designee, to issue a stipend payment of $100,000.00 to Hensel Phelps Construction Co., the second-ranked proposer, pursuant to the Request for Qualifications and Request for Proposals for the project, in exchange for the County's retention of the proposal and associated intellectual property rights and to offset costs incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposal and participation in the Design-Build procurement process; c) Authorize the Director of General Services, or his Assistant Director or Capital Division Chief designee, to approve change orders in an aggregate amount not to exceed $6,945,000.00 as authorized under California Public Contract Code Section 20142(b); d) Authorize the Director of General Services, or his Assistant Director or Capital Division Chief designee, to (i) amend the Agreement to extend the Term of the Agreement by up to six (6) additional months, and (ii) terminate the Agreement in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement; e) Approve Budget Revision Request No. 0011105; f) After considering the Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), State Clearinghouse Number 2007111099, that the Board of Supervisors certified on March 11, 2008, the December 6, 2011 SEIR Addendum, approve and adopt the Addendum to the SEIR dated June 25, 2026, which has been completed pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15164; g) Find that no subsequent environmental review is required for the new North Branch Jail Expansion project after consideration of the SEIR and Addendum because: there are no substantial changes proposed in the project which require major revisions of the 2008 Final SEIR; no substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which require major revisions of the 2008 Final SEIR; and no new information of substantial importance concerning the project’s significant effects or mitigation measures, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time that the Final SEIR was certified in 2008, has been received that requires a SEIR or Negative Declaration; and h) Receive the Planning Commission conformity report required by Government Code Section 65402. The Planning Commission Staff Report for New Projects in the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Years 2026-2031 and the Planning Commission Action Letter for the hearing held on June 3, 2026 constitute the required report.” via SB County Board of Supervisors

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Power & Politics
SB County Board of Supervisors · The Whipping Post · NO.297 · PANEL 2/6 · SB-2JT

The Board of Supervisors, in a truly breathtaking display of bureaucratic agility, has at last — and by 'at last,' we mean nearly two decades after original certifications — decided to move forward with a $138 million expansion of the North Branch Jail. Forget efficient government; this is a masterclass in 'eventually.' It took less time for the Romans to build aqueducts than it did for Santa Barbara County to agree on whether to add a few more cells.

The original environmental review for this project, according to the agenda item our friends at the Board of Supervisors generously provided, dates back to 2008. That was when George W. Bush was still president! Now, with President Trump firmly back in the Oval Office, our local laggards are finally getting around to it. One might wonder if the county's decision-making process is powered by a sundial and a committee of tortoises.

Sletten Construction, a firm from Montana no less, gets the nod for this monumental (in terms of timeline) undertaking. Meanwhile, 'second-ranked' proposer Hensel Phelps gets a $100,000 consolation prize, seemingly for the sheer effort of filling out the paperwork while the county deliberated for nearly two decades. It's a generous sum for a 'thanks for playing' sticker, isn't it? Perhaps they should offer a stipend to the taxpayers for waiting this long.

And talk about 'connecting the dots' – who truly benefits from these glacial, multi-million dollar projects? It's not just about more cells; it's about the endless addendums, the 'not to exceed' sums that always manage to exceed, and the perpetuation of the bureaucratic class that thrives on such deliberate inaction. This isn't just a jail expansion; it's a testament to how comfortably local government can spend your money while taking its sweet, sweet time.

Here’s the angle nobody else printed: The 'environmental reviews,' which apparently needed endless updates since 2008, magically found 'no substantial changes' requiring a fresh look. Funny how when $138 million is on the table, suddenly the environmental impact report from nearly two decades ago holds up just fine. It's almost as if the environmental concerns are a convenient hurdle until the politically appointed contractors are ready to break ground.

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