Pitch on jail design given (01/07/08)

Jay County Commissioners today continued to review design options for an expansion of the Jay County Jail, meeting with one of two architectural firms that have been studying the issue.

Schenkel-Shultz, Fort Wayne, outlined jail expansion possibilities in a PowerPoint presentation this morning.

DLZ, Indianapolis, has also been working with Sheriff Ray Newton and jail staff on the project.

As outlined this morning, a 19,500-square-foot jail expansion would fill nearly all of the former auto dealership property north of the 13,165-square-foot existing jail and would require the vacating of the adjacent east-west alley.

Estimated total cost of the project was $8.5 million, with about $6.9 million in hard costs for construction.

New cellblocks providing 96 to 110 new beds would occupy much of the addition, with the existing jail reconfigured to provide more space for administration, training, and the 911 dispatch center.

A new kitchen would occupy a portion of the addition in what is now the alley just north of the jail.

Issues involved in the jail expansion include lines of sight, cell usage, potential for future growth if needed in the future, and how to maintain security and day-to-day operations during construction.

Schenkel-Shultz representatives said their plans aimed at re-using as many existing walls of the current jail as possible in order to control costs.

Commissioners indicated this fall they are committed to expanding the jail, but they have not taken any final action on the topic.

Jay County Auditor Nancy Culy told commissioners that property tax rebate checks will be issued in a few weeks. The checks are now being reviewed to make sure they are not sent to individuals who are delinquent in their taxes.

In other business, the commissioners:

•Agreed to an animal control contract with Bill Fields at a cost of $37,500 for the year, an increase of $500.

•Discussed the need to restrict parking on the county's lot north of the courthouse on Walnut Street so that it is available for county employees between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

•Signed a grant agreement for the continuation of the New Interurban system operated by Lifestream in 2008.

•Noted the contract between the county and Sheriff Newton was resulting in significant savings.

"The contract's working well for us and well for Ray," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr. "It's a good situation for the county."

•Re-elected Miller as president of the commissioners and Gary Theurer as vice president.[[In-content Ad]]