Corrections Summit: West, A Success in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Correctional News hosted the first Corrections Summit: West on Nov. 13 at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento. The event was designed to take attendees through the planning, design, construction, maintenance and operational process of a correctional facility through a series of presentations.

Presenters included keynote speaker Nick Warner, managing partner at Warner and Pank LLC; and panel moderators, Matt Skarr, executive vice president of business development at CGL; Jeff Purtell, business development director at Dewberry; Mike Mazza, director of criminal justice at Moss Construction; and Tony Turpin, director of CGL Facility Management. Each moderator oversaw the discussion of their individual panels, which included experts in each specific category of planning, design, construction, or maintenance and operations.

With over 100 attendees, the event was filled with discussions on best practices, industry challenges and dialogue on solutions for future projects.

The event kicked off with Warner speaking on the big issues in California in terms of realignment and the desperate need for more funding. As the day progressed the attendees heard from Skarr and his panel on developing and implementing a plan, which focused on the importance of setting a clear path for a project in order to deliver the most cost-effective and efficient facility for the end-user. Purtell and his panel of architects discussed trends in design and how architects and owners are working together to make the most out of their design. Mazza discussed the various construction delivery methods that are being used for correctional facilities around the country and also in Canada. His panel members gave their experiences with different delivery options and reiterated that delivery methods vary from project to project and from owner to owner. The event concluded with a presentation on maintenance and operation trends. Turpin asked his panel questions about their experience with different trends and how implementing maintenance and operational standards had helped him in the past when he worked as a warden in Georgia.

The event delivered on the concept of taking attendees through the process of a handing over a correctional facility to the end-user, and also the importance of an ongoing maintenance and operation plan to keep the facility in top condition. Attendees included sheriffs, correctional executives, manufacturers, architects, general contractors and more. Panel members engaged audience participation for added knowledge into each presentation. Questions and comments were encouraged throughout the event and made the conference more of an interactive experience for all.

The free industry event was made possible by the generous sponsors including Moss Construction; Oldcastle; CGL; Trussbilt; Cortech; Actall Corporation; Dewberry; Thermomass; Cornerstone Detention Products; Willoughby; and CML RW Security.

The 2014 event is already being discussed and Correctional News will send out more information when it becomes available.