Pueblo County officials said staff may proceed with an increase to a materials-testing contract for the new county detention center, and that a budget amendment will be backdated and presented later.

County Manager Bena Genesio introduced the item, saying the request was to increase an existing third‑party materials‑testing contract for the detention center. Jail manager Dave Zupan told commissioners the testing covers soils compaction, concrete and asphalt quality, welding and structural steel inspections and that the work is done by an independent contractor to avoid biased results. "We have found that the testing that is required to ensure a quality product does require a little bit more testing than the original value. So we're asking to increase that contract amount by $70,000," Zupan said.

Zupan said the county contracted with Kumar and Associates and that the contractor’s work to date was "substantially less than our initial estimate and our budgeted dollar amount." He said the requested $70,000 increase would "carry us through the end of the project" for additional asphalt, concrete, roofing and other inspections and noted there is contingency funding in the owner's line if needed. County Manager Genesio confirmed to commissioners that staff would move forward with expenditures and that the county would "backdate the budget amendment and bring that forward in the next week or so." Commissioners voiced support and concern for avoiding construction delays.

The presentation and discussion were described as staff direction rather than a recorded formal vote. The county did not record a motion on the public transcript; commissioners gave verbal agreement to proceed and Genesio said the amendment would be presented later for formalization.

Clarifying details in the meeting: Zupan identified the contractor as Kumar and Associates and the requested increase specifically as $70,000. Genesio said any further overages could be covered by the owner's contingency line. The transcript does not record a formal roll-call vote on the expenditure; instead staff were authorized to proceed and will submit a budget amendment afterward.

Next steps: staff will proceed with the additional testing under the increased authority, and the county will present a backdated budget amendment to formalize the change at a later date.