Jay shingle purchase eyed

An expected increase in the price of shingles means the county could buy ahead if it plans to replace the roof on the Jay County Jail.

"We're exploring some pricing," said Jeff Badders of SchenkelShultz to the Jay County Building Corporation at its meeting Thursday afternoon.

Badders said there are rumors that the price of shingles may jump as much as 10 percent in April. Money to replace the roof on the existing jail building was cut out of the construction cost, but it still may be done later in the project.

"We might pre-buy shingles then go out for quotes on labor," he said.

Badders said quotes are also being taken for evidence lockers that would make controlling materials coming in for investigations easier. Badders said a contractor had quoted the lockers and installation at around $20,000.

By ordering directly from the manufacturer and then paying separately for installation could reduce that cost by as much as half.

In construction news, Badders said all of the cells arrived and have been situated since the board's last meeting.

"All the cells were delivered and they're in the building and installed," he said.

The cells arrived pre-manufactured from a producer outside Atlanta. Several flatbed trucks carrying the cells arrived in Portland within the last two weeks and were lifted by crane and locked into the building.

In the next month, Badders said workers will "start to move outside and you'll see them doing some exterior blockwork.

"Schedule-wise, it looks like we're in good shape," he said. The expansion should be completed by fall and then crews will begin remodeling the existing jail.

The board paid the monthly claims of $681,672.04. Badders said as the work moves outside again, some unexpected costs, such as expenses for bad soils, could pop up.[[In-content Ad]]