Will County officials have completed design plans for a major expansion of the overcrowded county jail.
The County Board’s Capital Improvements Committee picked a plan from among five options that includes construction of five 56-bed pods and puts the shell of a building in place for a sixth pod. The committee has directed the Public Building Commission to proceed with that option, committee chairman Wayne McMillan (R-Bolingbrook) told the County Board on Thursday.
The 15-year-old jail in downtown Joliet was designed to accommodate 325 inmates, but the population has soared this year, housing 681 in August. In the last week, the population has ranged from 623 to 640 inmates per day, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
The plan is for infrastructure work on the expansion to start this month, McMillan said. The Joliet City Council also must grant permission for the expansion and approval is expected when the council considers it next month, he said.
Now that a design is in hand, the building commission, which is overseeing the project, can begin seeking bids, McMillan said. The County Board could vote this winter on awarding a construction contract, he said.
County officials have said they expect the expansion to be completed by late 2007 or early 2008. Officials have worked on the expansion plans for years as the jail’s population shot up.
“The beauty of it is, as these pods are completed, they’ll be immediately available,” McMillan said. “So, we’re not going to wait until all five are done and that will help start alleviating the overpopulation conditions.”
The architects are estimating the project will cost about $55 million, and the construction manager estimates that it will cost $57 million, McMillan said. The county has sold $35 million in bonds and whether it sells another $15 million or $20 million will be determined after the construction bid is awarded, he said.
To cover some of the additional cost, the county could use interest money being generated from the first bond sale, McMillan said.
“Hopefully we’ll have enough money to finish the sixth pod, which to build will cost another $1.5 million,” he said.
