BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Kern County Board of Supervisors has approved an emergency project for the Lerdo Detention Facility’s power breaker.
Detentions Lieutenant Jacob Pierson told 23ABC there were several power outages, and on March 11, they discovered the breaker was in poor condition.
It supplies power for the facility’s staff and about 1,650 inmates. Thanks to this approval, they’ll be able to expedite the repairment process before it becomes a real issue.
"It hasn’t affected anything yet. We’re trying to get ahead of it before it becomes a major maintenance issue but it would affect our kitchen area, laundry area, and some of our A/C units for some of our facilities in the back end of our compound," said Lieutenant Pierson.
The board's approval allows up to $68,500 dollars to be used. Lieutenant Pierson said it’s a relief to be able to fix the power breaker fast.
"If the breaker were to fail again, we wouldn't be able to provide food for our inmates so being able to get this job done quickly with the board’s approval puts my mind at ease," he said.
Lieutenant Pierson said they’ll be doing biweekly updates and plan on finishing the repairs in the next week or so.
