BIG SPRING -- Three construction management companies will interview with Howard County commissioners Oct. 9 about building a proposed $11.57 million, 96-bed jail.

Lee George Construction of Big Spring, Templeton Construction of San Angelo and Dinosaur Valley Construction Inc. of Glen Rose sent bids in for the project. Another bid, which commissioners did not open, was late, County Judge Mark Barr said.

Voters will cast ballots on the jail Nov. 6. Early voting runs Oct. 22 through Nov. 2.

A $10 million jail bond failed last fall. The county faces financial problems and sanctions because its 50-year-old jail no longer meets Texas Commission on Jail Standards requirements.

It was closed from November 2006 through June of this year, prompting the county to pay to house inmates in other counties.

The court plans to talk to representatives from construction management companies at 1:30 p.m. next Tuesday, following a regular 10 a.m. commission meeting in the Howard County Courthouse, Barr said.

Officials reviewed the proposals at their meeting this Tuesday at the courthouse.

"Two of them were very good and the third one could be," Barr said. "They've all had a lot of experience."

He added that he thinks the court will be able to decide among the candidates during their meeting.

Meanwhile, Barr, Sheriff Dale Walker, Chief Jailer Mike Averette, Jeff Heffelfinger, president of Fort Worth-based Southwest Architects, which is designing the proposed jail, and consultant Carl R. Griffith & Associates Inc. will meet with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards today.

Commissioners on Tuesday also reviewed design plans for the jail in the sheriff's classroom.

The new jail would be 40,000 square feet and contain 96 beds -- 86 for men and 10 for women. The current jail has 6,000 square feet and cannot take female inmates.

Walker said 31,410 square feet of the metal and brick-faced building would be jail space, 3,403 square feet for jail administration, 3,230 square feet for the sally port and 1,880 square feet for the public lobby area. There will be open-air recreation yards with overhangs.

There would be room for a 48-bed addition and a 24-bed (Phase III) addition. It also would take police department inmates. The Big Spring Police Department currently has a room for 10 to 12 inmates, Walker said.

Video visitation will be provided at eight stations. More available visitation times will mean less crowding, Walker said. Inmates are allowed 20-minute visits, but the county will charge for extra time.

Currently, visitation is allowed twice a week, Sundays and Thursdays.

The new set-up also cuts down on manpower and moving inmates to and from parole hearings, for example, Walker said.

The county averaged 56 inmates in September, or 34 a day, Barr said. Prisoners now sends overflow inmates to Winkler, Lamb or Hale counties.