REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 16, 2025
FROM
DON DAY, Director, Project and Facilities Management Department
SUBJECT
Title
Declaration of Retroactive Emergency for the High Desert Detention Center Amp Breaker Replacement Project and Contract Amendment to On Call Service Agreement with Ham’s Electric, Inc.
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Find that the High Desert Detention Center Amp Breaker Replacement Project was exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines, Section 15269.
2. Find that there is substantial evidence that immediate action was needed to prevent or mitigate the threat to life, health, property and essential public services posed by the electrical failure that occurred at the High Desert Detention Center on May 10, 2025 when an area-wide power surge caused multiple breakers to seize resulting in a complete loss of power and Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning services throughout the facility, which constituted an emergency, retroactive to the period of May 10, 2025 to May 15, 2025, pursuant to Public Contract Code sections 22035 and 22050, and that the emergency did not permit the delay resulting from a formal competitive solicitation of bids to procure maintenance and repair services (Four votes required).
3. Approve Amendment No. 3 to Contract No. 24-130 with Ham’s Electric, Inc., retroactive to May 10, 2025, to compensate Ham’s Electric, Inc. for the emergency maintenance and repairs identified in Recommendation No. 2 for the High Desert Detention Center Amp Breaker Replacement Project, increasing the on-call contract amount by $334,158, from an amount not to exceed $1,137,290 to $1,471,448 with no change to the contract term of April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2026 (Four votes required).
4. Authorize the Director of the Project and Facilities Management Department to accept the work and execute and file the Notice of Completion.
5. Direct the Project and Facilities Management Department to file and post the Notice of Exemption as required under the California Environmental Quality Act.
(Presenter: Don Day, Director, 387-5000)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of the recommendation will not require additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The High Desert Detention Center Amp Breaker Replacement Project (Project) (WBSE 10.20.0012) was approved by the County Administrative Office on August 20, 2025, with a total budget of $445,000 as part of the San Bernardino County (County) 2025-26 Capital Improvement Program Budget. The actual cost of the work came in below the approved budget, and the cost of Amendment No. 3 remains within the total Project budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On May 10, 2025, Facilities Management received an after-hours emergency call reporting a complete loss of power at the High Desert Detention Center. Upon inspection, staff determined that an area-wide power surge had caused multiple main electrical breakers to seize, resulting in a full loss of power and heating, ventilation and air conditioning service throughout the facility. One of the affected breakers had recently been replaced and was able to be rebuilt; however, the remaining breakers required replacement due to extensive damage.
Due to the critical nature of the facility and the potential risk to the health and safety of inmates and staff, immediate action was required to restore electrical power and maintain essential building operations. Temporary measures were implemented, including the deployment of over 50 commercial cooling fans to provide air circulation while the facility operated on generator power.
Emergency work included rebuilding two existing 400-amp breakers, replacing two 400-amp breakers, performing SI testing and metering, and completing a 24-inch, 4,000-amp recoil replacement. All work was conducted during normal business hours and overseen by Facilities Management to ensure timely restoration of services and compliance with safety standards. The facility is now in full operation, and all breakers have been successfully installed.
While the type of work necessary for completion of the Project would normally require competitive bidding, the delay that would be caused by formal solicitation of competitive bids would negatively impact critical public services and endanger the safety of the building’s occupants. As immediate action was required to restore utility power to the facility or be forced to relocate 1,900 inmates, PFMD now recommends that the Board of Supervisors (Board), retroactive to the period of May 10, 2025 to May 15, 2025, find that there was an emergency pursuant to Public Contract Code section 22050 that required immediate action, and pursuant to Public Contract Code sections 22035 and 22050. This item is being brought now to update the documents to reflect the events that occurred.
Ham’s Electric was chosen to perform the emergency work for the Project due to their demonstrated expertise and proven ability to respond quickly to critical facility needs. Additionally, Ham’s Electric staff possess the required security clearances to enter and perform work at detention facilities. The County has an existing on-call contract with Ham’s Electric for electrical maintenance and repair services, which was competitively procured in accordance with County procurement policies, however, that contract had a maximum compensation of $1,137,290, which was exceeded by this Project and now requires contract amendment to reimburse Ham’s Electric.
On December 3, 2020, PFMD issued Request for Proposals (RFP) FMD121-FM-4005 through the County’s ePro system. On April 1, 2021, the Purchasing Department (Purchasing) authorized Contract No. 4400016439 with Ham’s Electric for a total of $360,000 for the period of April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2024 for on-call electrical maintenance services at multiple County locations.
On October 20, 2023, Purchasing approved Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 4400016439, to increase the contract amount by $400,000 for a total of $760,000 and extend the contract term from March 31, 2024 through March 31, 2026.
On January 23, 2024, the Board approved Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 4400016439, which was subsequently renamed Contract No. 24-130, to increase the contract amount by $377,290 for a total of $1,137,290.
Approval of Amendment No. 3 to Contract No. 24-130 in the amount of $334,158, increasing the total contract amount $1,471,448, will cover the unanticipated costs for the Project and compensate Ham’s Electric for the work they performed during the emergency.
It is recommended the Board determine the Project was categorically exempt from further review under Section 15269 as the repair work was necessary to mitigate an emergency.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Daniel Pasek, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on November 3, 2025; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on November 7, 2025; Project and Facilities Management (Jennifer Costa, Chief of Facilities Management) on November 19, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Eduardo Mora, Administrative Analyst, 387-4376) on November 25, 2025.