REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 13, 2026
FROM
DON DAY, Director, Project and Facilities Management Department
SUBJECT
Title
Terminate the Emergency Related to the Electrical Failures at the High Desert Detention Center
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Terminate the finding, first made by the Board of Supervisors on December 16, 2025, that there was substantial evidence that the electrical failures 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, created an emergency pursuant to Public Contract Code section 22035 and 22050 that required immediate action to prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health, property, and essential public services to protect the health and safety of inmates and staff.
(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
The action to terminate this emergency will not require the use of 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 (CAO) to be funded by the San Bernardino County (County) Capital Improvement Program Budgets on August 20, 2025, with a total budget of $445,000. The actual cost of the work came in within the approved 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.
No further projects are necessary to address the effects of the emergency. A termination of the emergency finding is recommended in accordance with Public Contract Code section 22050, as the project has been completed.
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.
On December 16, 2025, the Board approved 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 emergency maintenance and repairs for the High Desert Detention Center Amp Breaker Replacement Project, increasing the contract amount by $334,158 for a total of $1,471,448 with no change to the term of April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2026.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Kaleigh Ragon, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 10, 2025; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on December 11, 2025; Project and Facilities Management (Jennifer Costa, Chief of Facilities Management, 387-2920) on December 15, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Eduardo Mora, Administrative Analyst, 387-4376) on December 23, 2025.