July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Jail project on agenda (02/12/08)
Jay County Commissioners
By By JACK RONALD-
What's the next step? And how much is the county prepared to spend?
Those are two of the questions Jay County Commissioners will take to the Jay County Council meeting Wednesday night as they seek guidance on how to address space problems at the county jail.
The commissioners and Sheriff Ray Newton have discussed the jail's problems with prisoner overcrowding, cramped administrative space, and security issues over the past several months.
Two firms - DLZ of Indianapolis and SchenkelSchultz of Fort Wayne - have prepared schematic drawings outlining possible expansion of the jail to meet the county's current and future needs.
Those drawings were prepared at no cost to the county, but if the process is to go further, it will be necessary to hire an architect.
"What I'm hearing from SchenkelSchultz is that to go forward we need to sign a contract," county councilman and former sheriff Gerald Kirby said last week.
Kirby and councilman George Meehan, also a former sheriff, have been working with Newton and the commissioners in an effort to find an affordable solution.
Estimates for expanding the 13,150-square-foot jail to the north in space now occupied by an alley and the former Maitlen Motors auto dealership have ranged from $4 million to $8 million in construction costs.
SchenkelSchultz scaled back earlier plans to bring the cost down to the $4 million level by calling for some of the additional cellblock areas to be phased in over time.
Commissioners have said they are looking for guidance from the council as to how much the county is willing to invest in the project and whether to proceed with design work by hiring an architectural firm.
Another option, urged by Kirby, would be to hire an independent firm not interested in doing the architectural work to conduct a feasibility study to see what's needed.
"We're at the point where we've got to do something," commissioner Gary Theurer said last week.
Newton has given commissioners his estimates on what an expanded jail with a capacity of 120 prisoners - as outlined by the design firms - would cost to operate.
The sheriff estimated about $250,000 in additional annual expense for increased staff in a 120-bed facility and $35,000 to $45,000 more annually in utility expenses.
Part of the increased operational expense could be offset by housing out-of-county prisoners, Newton has told the commissioners.
The current jail was built in 1984.[[In-content Ad]]
Those are two of the questions Jay County Commissioners will take to the Jay County Council meeting Wednesday night as they seek guidance on how to address space problems at the county jail.
The commissioners and Sheriff Ray Newton have discussed the jail's problems with prisoner overcrowding, cramped administrative space, and security issues over the past several months.
Two firms - DLZ of Indianapolis and SchenkelSchultz of Fort Wayne - have prepared schematic drawings outlining possible expansion of the jail to meet the county's current and future needs.
Those drawings were prepared at no cost to the county, but if the process is to go further, it will be necessary to hire an architect.
"What I'm hearing from SchenkelSchultz is that to go forward we need to sign a contract," county councilman and former sheriff Gerald Kirby said last week.
Kirby and councilman George Meehan, also a former sheriff, have been working with Newton and the commissioners in an effort to find an affordable solution.
Estimates for expanding the 13,150-square-foot jail to the north in space now occupied by an alley and the former Maitlen Motors auto dealership have ranged from $4 million to $8 million in construction costs.
SchenkelSchultz scaled back earlier plans to bring the cost down to the $4 million level by calling for some of the additional cellblock areas to be phased in over time.
Commissioners have said they are looking for guidance from the council as to how much the county is willing to invest in the project and whether to proceed with design work by hiring an architectural firm.
Another option, urged by Kirby, would be to hire an independent firm not interested in doing the architectural work to conduct a feasibility study to see what's needed.
"We're at the point where we've got to do something," commissioner Gary Theurer said last week.
Newton has given commissioners his estimates on what an expanded jail with a capacity of 120 prisoners - as outlined by the design firms - would cost to operate.
The sheriff estimated about $250,000 in additional annual expense for increased staff in a 120-bed facility and $35,000 to $45,000 more annually in utility expenses.
Part of the increased operational expense could be offset by housing out-of-county prisoners, Newton has told the commissioners.
The current jail was built in 1984.[[In-content Ad]]
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