Repairing the jail
PRINCETON — The Bureau County Board will move ahead with long-needed repairs at the Bureau County Jail.
At Tuesday's county board meeting, Buildings and Grounds Committee Chairman Kristi Warren presented information on the recent bidding process for an upgrade to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system at the jail. Though several bid packets were taken out on the project, the committee received back only one bid, that of $137,947 from Fritz Elmore of Dover.
On Wednesday, Warren said the county board has approved sending the Fritz Elmore bid to the KJWW consulting firm for review. Both Fritz Elmore and KJWW will be asked to attend the Building and Grounds Committee meeting in January to go through the bid specifications to make sure everyone is on the same page, Warren said.
The full Bureau County Board will be able to make final approval of the Fritz Elmore bid at its January meeting.
Looking ahead, Warren said it could take Fritz Elmore a few weeks to get ready to do the jail project, but the company has estimated the actual work itself will take three to four weeks to complete once it begins.
The HVAC upgrade is a necessary step, but it does not solve all the problems with the existing jail. Warren said.
"I think it's (HVAC work) the only financially logical step we can take right now because of the economy," Warren said. "We'd love to be doing more, but we can't."
The cost of the HVAC project is coming out of the existing capital jail fund.
For the past several years, the Bureau County Board has been faced with a variety of building concerns at the jail, including space and communication issues. Options for solving those problems have included building a new jail, buying or leasing modulars, and repairing the existing jail. Since Bureau County voters decided in November 2010 against building a new jail at this time, the county is now revisiting its other options.
On Wednesday, Warren said the Buildings and Grounds Committee is not currently discussing the possibility of buying or leasing modulars, nor is it currently looking at acquiring other properties neighboring the jail at this time.
In other jail business at the county board meeting, the board approved a contract with radio consultant Jim Eatock of B-K Electric of Griggsville to do an assessment of the radio communications system within the sheriff's department. The consultant will look, in part, at the best way to transition to the required narrow banding radio system and will develop a communications equipment and standards plan. Eatock is expected to report back to the county by mid-March.
In other Buildings and Grounds business, Warren gave an update on the proposed electric upgrade at the Bureau County Courthouse. The county has received a $250,000 grant from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the courthouse work. The county board approved hiring KJWW to do an on-site assessment of the electrical needs at the courthouse. After the needs are determined, the county will then put the project out for bids, Warren said.
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