$23.8M jail construction bids approved

A June bid package of approximately $2.5 million for steel, metal building and roofing materials was previously approved by commissioners.

Garmong reported the Tuesday that 22 bids were received for the package including concrete, masonry, drywall, etc., flooring, equipment, fire, plumbing, HVAC and electrical work.

The project total is estimated at $30.34 million, with $26,421,898 actual construction costs and the remaining approximately $4 million in soft costs and contingencies.

A bond sale is planned in early September to finance the project.

Earlier this year, the Gibson County Jail Facilities Corporation was empowered to issue up to $26.75 million in bonds to pay for the jail project once construction bids are approved. According to a financial study done for the county by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, the bonds can be repaid over a 20-year period in $2 million annual lease payments. The payments can come from revenue from the county jail tax and/or a portion of EDIT fund revenue.

Retired sheriff George Ballard is working on contract as the county owner representative on the jail project, and reported that a contractor is preparing to move a steel building on the lot acquired north of the existing jail for the new construction project, across Prince Street to the former Standard Printing property. Once a concrete pad for the building has cured, the move will take place later this month.

The metal building will be used as a storage building and when the property north of the existing jail is prepped and bonds are issued to finance the project, then construction of the new jail would begin.

The project was prompted by a U.S. Southern District federal court agreement as part of a class action lawsuit by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union against the county, which alleged overcrowding and understaffing at the existing jail facility. When the new jail is completed, the sheriff’s office entrance will be at Brumfield and Prince Streets, and will connect to the existing Gibson County Community Corrections Building. The jail will be built just north of the existing facility, which will eventually be demolished.

The county’s new probation/public defender office building is under construction on the south side of Emerson Street from the jail, and commissioners approved a low bid of $15,960 from Completely Wired for data cable work for that project Tuesday.

Commissioners also approved a $27,500 bid from Danco construction to remove a portion of a wall in two Gibson County Courthouse basement rooms to create chambers and a courtroom for the magistrate’s office.

In other business Tuesday night, commissioners voted 2-1 with commissioner Warren Fleetwood dissenting, to approve Duke Energy’s request to vacate part of County Road 175 West from County Road 1200 West to the west side of the company’s property in western Gibson County, and to vacate a portion of County Road 100 West between CR175 and the southern boundary of the property.

The company agrees to create two cul-de-sacs for large equipment turnarounds and will make some improvements to CR1300 West to improve the north-south transportation in that area.

Fleetwood received assurance that the closure would not affect riverfront access. He first offered a motion to table the request, but it died for lack of a second. Commissioner Mary Key offered a motion to grant the request, supported by Board of Commissioners President Ken Montgomery, and the measure passed 2-1.

County Engineer Matt Holden received approval to submit a contract for federal 80% federal aid to replace Bridge 73, which was originally constructed as a covered bridge in the 1870s but burned. Holden said the replacement project wouldn’t be on the construction calendar until 2026.

The board approved changes the distribution schedule within a loan agreement for the Fort Branch library expansion project. The project was awarded $3.7 million in tax increment finance revenue.

The commissioners unanimously appointed Jerica Davis as a trustee on the Owensville Carnegie Library board.

And, the board approved a resolution assigning six land parcels in Oakland City that went unsold at tax sale to the City of Oakland city. County Attorney Jason Spindler said the city would acquire them to work on cleaning up blighted properties.

John Adams asked commissioners for some help in solving a drainage issue on County Road 250 West that he said is claiming about 70 feet of his yard. Adams said a culvert filled with concrete is the source of the problem, and agreed to show highway department crews the source.

“It’s kind of bizarre to fill a culvert with concrete,” said Fleetwood.

“It’s happened before,” said Montgomery, a retired highway department worker.

Commissioners took a $494,162 bid from Crossroads Ambulance Sales of Middlebury for the purchase of two ambulances under advisement. Spindler said he believes the local ambulance service hopes to use American Rescue Plan Act funding to buy the vehicles.