Thursday, Oct. 02, 2008
County Commission OKs money for final phase of jail expansion
Jack Weinstein
jweinstein@theolathenews.com
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ReprintJohnson County commissioners authorized funding Thursday for the final phase of the ongoing expansion of the county's jail near Gardner.
The authorization was part of a $69.1 million package that included nearly $30.3 million for a new crime lab and $27.8 million to expand the downtown OIathe jail into a booking facility.
The bonds issued to fund the projects will be repaid with revenue generated by the quarter-cent county sales tax for public safety projects, which voters approved in August. The tax will take effect Jan. 1.
The $11 million third phase of the jail expansion at the Fred Allenbrand Criminal Justice Complex at the New Century AirCenter is part of the project's overall cost of $60.3 million. It will add 554 beds — more than doubling the jail's existing inmate capacity. The project began in November 2007 and is scheduled for completion next year with operation beginning in 2010.
The 51,000-square-foot crime lab to be built connected with the county's new emergency communications center — set for completion in November at 119th Street and Ridgeview Road — will replace the county's existing 12,000-square-foot crime lab, which has operated in Mission since 1974. Construction is scheduled to begin late next year with completion in 2011.
The downtown jail will be turned into a countywide booking facility and 72-hour holding facility. Construction is set to begin in 2010 with completion slated for 2012.
Bonds for the crime lab and booking facility won't be issued until 2009.
The final project identified to receive funding from the sales tax was the new juvenile services complex. On Sept. 11, commissioners authorized a $1.3 million contract with Treanor Architects to design the $17.75 million complex.
The sales tax, which doesn't sunset, is expected to generate $18.9 million in 2009 for the county's public safety projects. About $10.6 million generated from the tax will be split among the county's cities.