County approves additional $53,000 for jail expansion

<p>An additional $53,000 will be spent on the jail expansion due to a costly electrical issue. </p><p>The Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved the added expense during a special meeting Friday. </p><p>The $53,177 change order for electrical work was brought before the board and approved in a minute-long meeting. While prepping for construction, contractors discovered existing electrical wires bringing power to the jail and sheriff’s administration offices were rusted, prompting the unexpected expense, Sheriff Duane Burgess said.</p><p>Power will need to be cut off to jail offices for four hours, and to sheriff’s offices for 10 hours, according to the change order. The work is planned to take place outside of normal business hours to minimize the impact on staff, Burgess said.</p><p>Because the power will only be cut to administration offices, inmates will not be impacted, he said.</p><p>The change order had to be approved publicly because it meets the $25,000 threshold the commissioners set to review any additional expenses as a board, said commissioner Kevin Walls, who oversees the project on behalf of the board. Any additional expenses under $25,000 may be approved outside of public meetings at Walls’ discretion.</p><p>Money for the work will come from the contingency fund set aside for these types of unexpected costs, Walls said.</p><p>The $23 million project is on schedule to be completed by fall or winter 2021, depending on the weather, Burgess said. The expansion will add 264 beds in a new wing of the jail, pull-in bays for arresting officers and revamp intake and medical areas.</p><p>The new building will sit west of the existing jail, connected by a walkway. The addition will include about 74 new cells on two floors. Those cells will be designed to hold two, four or six inmates, depending on size.</p><p>The expansion will also include a central command center, a raised tower in the middle of all the cells so jail workers can monitor and see all the inmates at all times.</p>