County Gives Sneak Peek At Expansion Project
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
What few members of the public were present at the Kosciusko County commissioners' public hearing regarding the execution of a lease relating to the Justice Building expansion project got a sneak peek at the plans for the building's future.
According to Charlie Goodman, architect with Schenkel Schultz, the building will expand from its current location on the corner of Lake and Main streets south to the corner of Lake and Center streets.
While the bulk of the project will not begin until 2000, the sheriff's department central dispatch will be completed in the basement by Nov. 1. The dispatch will be where the large meeting room is now.
Other rooms in the basement will include a kitchen for the county jail, mechanical rooms, a coroner's office in the northeast corner and some unassigned space for continuing growth.
On the first floor, there will be a confinement area for prisoners, a two-tier jail component with a capacity for 300 beds and expanded bookings, and a drive-through for officers will be completed to allow officers to drop prisoners off at the door. The facilities will be made handicapped accessible. The new main entry will be centrally located on Lake Street.
All clerk's offices and probation department offices will be on the first floor, as will the prosecutor's offices.
The second floor level will contain the second tier of the prison and the public corridor will keep the stained glass windows but will be expanded. All courts will be on the second floor, with room for an additional court. A secure corridor from the jail to the courts will allow prisoners to be kept from public view before entering the courts.
The east side of the building will remain Indiana limestone but will be cleaned. On the south side, precast concrete will be used to look like Indiana limestone to keep costs low. The north side will feature a new entry for the jail and will be made handicapped accessible.
The building will be completed in three phases, Goodman said.
Randy Rompola, attorney with Baker & Daniels, said the project's lease will not exceed 25 years, with annual lease rental payments not to exceed $1.9 million per year.
Roger Umbaugh, CPA, of H.J. Umbaugh & Associates, said the total estimated construction cost for the project will be $25,277,446. Including soft costs, the total will rise to $27,136,480. After paying costs and interest, the total project cost is estimated to be near $36 million. Annual lease payments are estimated to be around $1.7 million. Property taxes are conservatively estimated to be around $0.206, based on existing net assessment, Umbaugh said. Estimates for the project, including the lease, were figured at a property tax rate of $0.25, he said. Hopefully, he said, they will be less.
Commissioners Brad Jackson, Avis Gunter and Eddie Creighton unanimously passed the resolution authorizing and approving of the execution and delivery of the the lease.
The petition must be reviewed and approved by the Indiana State Board of Tax Commissioners. Rompola said he expects that to happen in September or October.
Only local resident Herschel Rainwater questioned the project, but his questions were more toward the county's purchase of Lake City Inn to be used as the new work release center. County attorney Mike Miner said other counties will not use the work release center because, by its nature, the work release center must be close to where a person is working.
Lake City Inn has the potential to house 240 work release inmates. The facility also will temporarily house the probation department and other offices while the Justice Building expansion project is taking place.
Miner said that although the county has only 36 inmates, it does have about 60 people on the waiting list and in the future, they may need to expect more work release inmates. He said delinquent fathers who fail to pay child support may end up in work release.
"My own personal conclusion is that people who don't pay child support may go through work release," Miner said.
Creighton, in response to Rainwater's concerns, said his speculation is that more people on probation will be turned over to work release in the future. He said there are now 1,200 people in the county on probation.
He also said the county needs to plan for the future instead of just one to five years down the road. The county isn't in debt and now is a good time to begin the project, Creighton said.
As far as Rainwater's concern about the economic development income tax, Creighton said, he was not going to speculate on its future, but the Justice Building expansion project is not predicated on EDIT.
Whether or not EDIT is approved in the future, Creighton said, depends on the county council, but he would not speculate on it happening. [[In-content Ad]]
What few members of the public were present at the Kosciusko County commissioners' public hearing regarding the execution of a lease relating to the Justice Building expansion project got a sneak peek at the plans for the building's future.
According to Charlie Goodman, architect with Schenkel Schultz, the building will expand from its current location on the corner of Lake and Main streets south to the corner of Lake and Center streets.
While the bulk of the project will not begin until 2000, the sheriff's department central dispatch will be completed in the basement by Nov. 1. The dispatch will be where the large meeting room is now.
Other rooms in the basement will include a kitchen for the county jail, mechanical rooms, a coroner's office in the northeast corner and some unassigned space for continuing growth.
On the first floor, there will be a confinement area for prisoners, a two-tier jail component with a capacity for 300 beds and expanded bookings, and a drive-through for officers will be completed to allow officers to drop prisoners off at the door. The facilities will be made handicapped accessible. The new main entry will be centrally located on Lake Street.
All clerk's offices and probation department offices will be on the first floor, as will the prosecutor's offices.
The second floor level will contain the second tier of the prison and the public corridor will keep the stained glass windows but will be expanded. All courts will be on the second floor, with room for an additional court. A secure corridor from the jail to the courts will allow prisoners to be kept from public view before entering the courts.
The east side of the building will remain Indiana limestone but will be cleaned. On the south side, precast concrete will be used to look like Indiana limestone to keep costs low. The north side will feature a new entry for the jail and will be made handicapped accessible.
The building will be completed in three phases, Goodman said.
Randy Rompola, attorney with Baker & Daniels, said the project's lease will not exceed 25 years, with annual lease rental payments not to exceed $1.9 million per year.
Roger Umbaugh, CPA, of H.J. Umbaugh & Associates, said the total estimated construction cost for the project will be $25,277,446. Including soft costs, the total will rise to $27,136,480. After paying costs and interest, the total project cost is estimated to be near $36 million. Annual lease payments are estimated to be around $1.7 million. Property taxes are conservatively estimated to be around $0.206, based on existing net assessment, Umbaugh said. Estimates for the project, including the lease, were figured at a property tax rate of $0.25, he said. Hopefully, he said, they will be less.
Commissioners Brad Jackson, Avis Gunter and Eddie Creighton unanimously passed the resolution authorizing and approving of the execution and delivery of the the lease.
The petition must be reviewed and approved by the Indiana State Board of Tax Commissioners. Rompola said he expects that to happen in September or October.
Only local resident Herschel Rainwater questioned the project, but his questions were more toward the county's purchase of Lake City Inn to be used as the new work release center. County attorney Mike Miner said other counties will not use the work release center because, by its nature, the work release center must be close to where a person is working.
Lake City Inn has the potential to house 240 work release inmates. The facility also will temporarily house the probation department and other offices while the Justice Building expansion project is taking place.
Miner said that although the county has only 36 inmates, it does have about 60 people on the waiting list and in the future, they may need to expect more work release inmates. He said delinquent fathers who fail to pay child support may end up in work release.
"My own personal conclusion is that people who don't pay child support may go through work release," Miner said.
Creighton, in response to Rainwater's concerns, said his speculation is that more people on probation will be turned over to work release in the future. He said there are now 1,200 people in the county on probation.
He also said the county needs to plan for the future instead of just one to five years down the road. The county isn't in debt and now is a good time to begin the project, Creighton said.
As far as Rainwater's concern about the economic development income tax, Creighton said, he was not going to speculate on its future, but the Justice Building expansion project is not predicated on EDIT.
Whether or not EDIT is approved in the future, Creighton said, depends on the county council, but he would not speculate on it happening. [[In-content Ad]]