County breaks ground on new jail, sheriff's office

County Commissioners this summer approved construction bids totaling $26,421,898 plus approximately $4 million in soft costs and contingencies, bringing the total anticipated project cost to $30.34 million.

The Gibson County Jail Facilities Corporation issued $26.75 million in bonds to pay for the jail project. 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.

The entire project is mandated by the settlement agreement of a federal lawsuit filed by Indiana Civil Liberties Union on behalf of jail inmates, alleging overcrowding and understaffing at the existing jail.

Retired sheriff George Ballard is working on contract with the county to serve as the owner representative of the project, and Garmong Construction Services is building the facility.

Sheriff Tim Bottoms detailed the features of the new facility, which will have double the bed capacity of the existing facility. The 208-bed jail will include a new control room, new 911 dispatch center, new indoor/outdoor recreation space, new medical and dental space, and room for drug treatment programs for inmates. It will house 22 corrections officers, nine communication officers, 19 deputies, a doctor and nurse, civil process manager, jail office manager, E-911 coordinator and jail secretary.

According to county officials, the 45,525 square feet of construction will include 60,000 concrete blocks, 1,100 cubic yards of concrete, 500 cubic yards of grout, 2,500 tons of stone for the building pad, 90 tons of rebar, 3.75 miles of electrical conduit, 4.75 miles of plumbing pipe and 1,700 cubic yards of fill material for the building pad.

County Board of Commissioners President Ken Montgomery and Commissioner Warren Fleetwood and County Council President Jeremy Overton spoke at the event, Fleetwood noting that the first jail was a wood structure built on the courthouse lawn in 1813, and since 1818, a jail has existed on the city block where the new construction takes place.

Ballard thanked the Gibson County Building Facilities Leasing Corporation members, jail committee members, Gibson County Auditor’s Office, County Attorney, the highway department, corrections officer Troy Blaize, outside counsel Barnes & Thornburg and Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors for their work in helping commissioners and council members plan and execute the project.