Jail push moves closer to a start

It's crunch time for plans in the works for some time to make renovations now expected to just about double the inmate capacity of Garvin County's jail.

Architect Larry Blackledge was armed with a set of drawings, complete with floor plans, and even a sample of a jail cell wall when he laid out final designs to all three county commissioners during a recent meeting.

“We're getting close to bidding this,” Blackledge said, adding that could come in a handful of weeks.

“This is about tripling the size of the kitchen enabling you to deal with the additional inmates, and we're doubling the laundry area.”

With the jail's capacity now at 76 inmates, when done, the renovations are expected to jump that number up to just over 140.

“This is a sample of a cell wall,” he adds. “It's insulated on the inside, so noise will be considerably less. It's expensive, but the coating on it is impervious to abrasions.”

The project is an expansion of the county sheriff's office into space formerly occupied by the district attorney and county assessor offices on the ground floor of the courthouse annex.

Both of those offices moved up to new homes in the second floor annex opened last year.

Now the plan is to convert the space into new offices for the sheriff's department, while expanding the jail area with more cells.

Put simply, the sheriff's office and jail will utilize the entire first floor of the annex portion of the courthouse when this project is completed.

Blackledge says he continues working to keep officials with the state Health Department and fire marshal's office updated on the project as a renovation of the jail must stay in compliance with state health and fire protection regulations.

Sheriff Larry Rhodes warned the group that more inmates in the future means more staff will be needed later.

“I caution you it's going to force us to hire more people in the jail,” he said.

The expansion also includes a sally port in the back of the facility, which will be a more secure area to unload prisoners coming into the jail.

Plans are to eventually make that local street behind the courthouse, Guy Avenue, a one-way with traffic moving eastbound only.

The current inmate recreation yard will also be absorbed into the area for new cell space.

The total cost of the project has been estimated at around $1.3 million, which will be funded by a half cent county sales tax.

The estimated cost includes something not there now – fire sprinklers on either floor of the courthouse's annex.

Still on the planning board is another phase of building improvements – renovations of the courthouse's fourth floor, now not accessible to the public and used only for storage.