Earlier this month, the Greene County Board of Supervisors approved the final funding for the new county jail project.

The Supervisors approved the construction manager at-risk DCI Group’s base bid and the alternate of two additional jail cells, for a total of 17 cells, and a heated Sally Port for patrol vehicles for $11,367,290. In 2022, the public passed a $10 million bond referendum for a new county jail. Supervisor Chair John Muir explains the reasons for adding the additional items to the project.

“Those things we felt were important. The two (additional) cells, why you’re building the building we’ll never be able to add any cells as cheaply as we could add those at this time. The Sally Port being heated, recognizing what this week’s like, the weather we’re having that is more a necessity than in the middle of sumer that we think about.”    

Muir says he was initially disappointed to see the base bid was over $10 million, even though the actual building part was just under that threshold as he describes the other factors that impacted the overall total amount.

“Then you’ve got the administrative cost that you add in there, then you’ve got two years of inflation as you’re getting to the point of getting your bids, and we know the condition of our present jail. If we ended up not addressing our problems and have to go out of house to pay for other jails to hold our prisoners (there’s) that cost. We decided it was time to go forward, it’s time to make it happen.”      

Muir adds that the main decision that ultimately made the Board comfortable moving forward with the alternates was that they could use some of the reserve funds to pay for the rest of the project. He anticipates construction on the new county jail later this year.