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Meeting in special session at the County Public Safety Building, members of the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee toured the jail to get a first-hand look at interior program space and the current outdoor recreation area, as it continued to examine potential options for renovation that would construct a new outdoor recreation area and convert an indoor recreation space to dormitory space for seven inmates.

The Committee, which last month asked LaBella Architects to change the position of the covered part of the yard from east to west, closer to the jail building, reviewed two alternate options—one of them that proposes adding a fourth wall facing east, composed of glass block at either end and a 20-foot-long opening in the center that could be covered by a roll-down metal door that would fully enclose space in the case of inclement weather.  That design option, which had been suggested by Sheriff Ken Lansing would eliminate any need for alternative indoor recreation space.

Facilities Director Arel LeMaro projected that design approach would add roughly $35,000 to the estimated project cost of just over $850,000.  While it was not yet ready to recommend a single design option, the committee today reached consensus to reduce the proposed designs under active consideration to two —the new “four-wall” design and the option that had been presented to the committee last month.  That option would place the covered shelter (steel-frame instead of concrete block) on the east side of the yard, with a steel-mesh opening on much of the east wall that also could be covered by a roll-down overhead door.  That design would be estimated to come in about $30,000 less than the initial projected budget.

Committee Chair Brian Robison indicated he views the new design’s ability to fully enclose the space as a significant benefit, even with a slightly higher cost.

Architects were directed to return to the committee’s next meeting May 12 with a detailed cost summary for the two options, with the expectation that the committee at that time will be ready to make a recommendation to the Legislature.  The budget committee would need to act on a revised bond resolution before the matter reaches the Legislature, most likely at its May 20 meeting.

The latest design will be posted on the County Administration website.

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