Friday, July 28th, 2023
Auglaize approves bid for jail expansion
By Abigail Miller
WAPAKONETA -Auglaize County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved a $381,317 bid from Granger Construction Company of Columbus for the preliminary design of the county jail expansion project.
The Auglaize County Jail Expansion Project involves a nearly $5 million renovation to accommodate an influx of female and special needs inmates.
County administrator Erica Preston said if all goes well, the expansion will be finished in October 2024.
Although the county was awarded a $2.035 million grant through the Ohio Jail Safety and Security Program in April, county commissioners have yet to receive the funding, she said.
"This is a busy time of the year, they just passed the budget, we're not sure when we're going to get that (grant funds)," Preston said.
Although the state is behind on processing their grant, Preston assured it shouldn't affect their timeline.
"It doesn't slow our project down," she said. "Our project is eligible even if we move forward without the grant agreement in place. That isn't a huge issue for us."
The project will be paid for with the grant, $1 million from the county development fund and $2 million from the county permanent improvement fund.
Plans call for the addition of roughly 30 beds, including 26 beds for an additional female block and a female mental health/medical block. The other four beds will make up a male mental health/medical block, Auglaize County Sheriff Mike Vorhees had said.
The sheriff's office moved into the 72-bed jail at 1051 Dearbaugh Avenue in 1998. It's still in good shape but only has beds for 11 female inmates, Vorhees had said. It also lacks adequate mental health/medical beds.
In other business, commissioners approved parking lot maintenance at the dog warden building.
Preston said the county routinely performs crack sealing on different county buildings over the years.
Board members approved a quote of $1,985 from Taylor Painting and Striping for the maintenance. The funds will be encumbered from the dog warden's fund.
