SANTA ANA : Plans for Jail, Police Building Advance

Plans for a new city jail and police headquarters remained on track Monday after the City Council agreed to spend $800,000 to acquire land and hire a consultant to oversee the construction project.

The council approved the hiring of CRSS Inc. of Irvine as the consultant for $1,892,300. One-fourth of the money set aside by the council Monday will go toward payment of the consultant, with the balance to be paid out during the next budget year.

The remaining $600,000 will go toward buying land.

Construction of the police headquarters and an adjoining 240-bed jail is expected to get underway within a year, city officials said in a memo to the council. The facilities will be built on an eight-acre site on Civic Center Drive between Flower and Bristol streets, east of Eddie West Field and the stadium’s parking garage.

Although the total cost of the project has not been finalized, an official in the city manager’s office said the expected cost should be known in about two months.

Last fall, the council approved a $2.9-million contract with Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, an architectural and engineering firm, to design the building.

The contract with CRSS was recommended because the city Public Works Agency “has neither the available staff nor the expertise that are essential in criminal justice facilities construction,” according to the staff memo to the council.