Construction of the Nevada Southern Detention Center is on time to be completed by August and on schedule to begin taking in inmates Oct. 1, 2010, Corrections Corporation of America Vice-President of Facility Operations Steve Conry told members of a CCA-Great Basin College Workforce Development Task Force Tuesday.

After a tour with the construction superintendent Monday, Conry said the federal detention center is starting to take shape, the walls are up and work is starting on the roof.

"We have a deep commitment to make sure we not only get the project up out of the ground on time but that we live up to all the commitments we made. We made a lot of commitments to folks with the development agreement and by word of mouth, and we intend to live up to every one of those and exceed those expectations," Conry said.

People who researched residents of communities where the 66 other CCA facilities are located will confirm the company exceeded their expectations, he said.

"We do feel very welcome here. It's probably my third or fourth trip here in the last year, and every time we come back it feels more and more comfortable and more like the community we want to be part of," Conry said.

The CCA human relations department will join with Great Basin College to start working on time lines for pre-hiring and screening applicants after the new year, he said.

"One of the first things we see, we want to make sure we get very good information out there so people know exactly what they need to get one of these jobs that are available," Conry said.

The federal detention center will employ 230 people, minus the warden, Joe Ponte, who was introduced to the task force. Ponte will be working permanently at the site starting April 1.

The company used a federal wage determination rate of $25 per hour for many positions, which has actually now risen to about $26, Conry said.

Nye County Commissioner Butch Borasky pushed CCA officials to hire local people, attempting to try to get a specific number of locals that would get work at the facility.

"We have a deep commitment to employ as many people from this area as possible. With the assistance of Great Basin College, we can do that," Conry said. "Our objective is to have at least 25 to 30 percent of our staff with some kind of law enforcement experience. Those folks can hopefully be drawn from the Nye County-Pahrump area."

Conry said the U.S. Marshals Service has a stringent screening process that could take a couple of months. CCA holds a five-week, pre-service training program he said. It expects to make a big announcement about the hiring next spring.

"We would like as many people as possible from Pahrump to be a part of this facility," Borasky said.

"That is our commitment to all of you -- that is going to happen," Conry replied.

Borasky said he was impressed after a trip to Eloy, Ariz., to see the attitude and mindset of employees at CCA facilities there and how the company was accepted by the community.

Conry said typically about 25 to 30 percent of the jobs are filled by employees from other CCA facilities after openings at the new facility are posted on the company Web site. Those are usually employees seeking a promotion, he said.

"I don't expect to see that many on the correctional officer-security side," he said.

Allen Parker, with EDEN Inc. and the Rural Nevada Development Council, said subtracting 60 company transfers, about 25 percent of the work force, from 230 jobs still leaves 170 jobs for Pahrump residents.

Conry told the school superintendent that though it's a federal facility, there won't be quotas for hiring minorities or females.

"We are an equal opportunity employer," Conry said.

Conry said the two biggest barriers to employment for Nye County residents will be lack of a high school diploma -- Conry said Great Basin College could provide instruction for general equivalency diplomas -- and a bad credit rating.

"We can assist people so that's not a barrier," he said.

Realtor Trish Rippie, a task force member, expressed concerns about the credit ratings of the many people who had homes in foreclosure.

"If you have a foreclosure, that's less onerous than having a large amount of money you are not paying," Conry said.

Dan Rodriguez, Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce executive director, asked CCA to buy supplies for the detention center locally.

Conry said CCA will reach out to the chamber to obtain a list of local businesses to keep on their procurement register.

CCA also plans to have a community relations committee that will meet quarterly, he said.

Nye County School Superintendent Rob Roberts said the school board is undergoing a major renovation of Pahrump Valley High School, adding a career-technical vocation wing.

"Hopefully we can get information from you all on what we can do," Roberts told CCA officials.

Pahrump Regional Planning Commission member Mark Kimball said the RPC and the Nye County Commission helped guide the project to fruition.

"Most of us have the scars to show you for some of that," Kimball quipped.

Bill Verbeck, director of the Pahrump Great Basin College campus, said, "As the detention center comes out of the ground and with the berms, it's certainly going to be something that, in time, I believe the whole community will not only recognize its benefits but the location isn't all that bad either."