NASSAU COBA

Dear COBA Membership,

As many of you may have noticed, B5 has recently been closed to initiate essential rehabilitation work aimed at addressing the various ongoing maintenance issues in the B-Building.

Since the beginning of our term in 2024, your COBA Board has been committed to advocating for significant upgrades to our facility's infrastructure. This effort kicked off with the extensive 832 Roof project, which involved removing the old roof and installing a brand-new one. Following that success, we advocated for the refurbishment of the second floor of the 832 building.

In Spring 2024, COBA took the initiative to urge the County to address the numerous issues within the B-Building. As a result, they ordered more than $250,000 worth of toilets, lights, and plumbing supplies.

Recognizing the challenges faced in the past where areas were closed before supplies arrived, causing delays in repairs, COBA, in collaboration with the Administration, agreed that the rehabilitation project would not commence until all equipment and supplies were delivered.

This week, we received confirmation that all necessary supplies have arrived, and we have verified this information. Attached are photos of the proposed plan, which outlines a complete rehabilitation of the entire B-Building.

The overall inmate count in past years has declined this time of year and is currently under 630. This creates the best time to start this project because it will hopefully not affect our members' day-to-day operations with such a low head count. While closing floors does cause undue stress for officers accustomed to working them, improving the conditions of our members’ daily work environment is always a priority.

In addition to a complete renovation of the Office on each floor, some of the many projects are listed below:

A. Replacing all broken inmate toilets

B. Permanently removing all inmate toilets on the tiers

C. Permanently removing all inmate slop sinks on the tiers

D. Renovating all inmate showers

E. Upgrading all guard walk lighting

F. Replacing gate motors for the cells

G. Upgrading all lock box lights and repairing any broken switches

H. Installing electrical outlets in the old lobby cells across from the Office, which our

officers currently use for storage and lockers

I. Removing all peeling and chipped paint from the tiers

J. Painting all tiers and the Officers' Office