The building that houses the Clinton County Sheriff's Department and Jail hasn't been updated in 30 years, and the initial cost estimate for renovations last November was $38 million.
After a comprehensive study and analysis, however, that cost estimate has almost doubled.
An 80-page report details everything the new Clinton County public safety facility should have, and according to Granger, as of April 14, the official cost estimate is $68 million.
"A year ago we asked our architect—we need an estimate to put in the budget...he used a similar sized square footage to what we normally have, and a square footage that was applicable at the time," Clinton County Administrator Controller Craig Longnecker said. "As we went through the process, the square footage got bigger and so did the price tag."
Right now the jail and sheriff's department combined are 60,000 square feet. Now plans call for a safety facility estimated at 100,000 square feet.
"So,obviously the square footage went up substantially," Longnecker said. "And, you know, inflation has gone up substantially."
The increase in square footage isn't to allow for more beds, but to better accommodate inmates.
"What's really making the square footage increase and this cost increase is that we're taking into account the demographics of our prisoner population," Longnecker said. "We have more females, so you need sight and sound separation all the way through the process from booking to holding to the inmate cells. We have inmates with more mental and physical health problems, so we've expanded space in the jail to take care of those inmates."
The increase in space will also better accommodate sheriff's department employees. Longnecker said the sheriff's department "was never really adequate for the road patrol and detective units that we have, for the equipment storage that we need."
The $68 million question is can Clinton County afford this?
"We had the financing in place to pay for the $34 million range project," Longnecker said. "Now, we're going to have to take a step back, and come up with a new financing plan...it might get slowed down because of the higher price tag and the time we're going to have to take to develop a financing plan."
The earliest the project could be completed is 2026.
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