Jail staff expected to move in to new facility in October

The New Henry County Jail being constructed on South Grand Avenue should be ready for staff to move in Oct. 1.

Crews broke ground on the new jail in May 2018. Since then, they have been busy with construction and fighting snow, ice and rain. Even so, John Hanson, project manager, said they are making good progress.

'Everything appears to be going according to plan,” Hanson said. 'We're spending more time than usual making sure contractors have stuff laid out correctly. Contractors have made a lot of progress and are doing a good job right now.”

The new jail will enable Henry County to house 96 detainees instead of their current eight. It will have a booking area, a wing for women and men, and a four-stall garage where vehicles transporting detainees will park, so the only time detainees will leave the jail after arriving will be for a court order or an emergency.

The mezzanine, where detainees are held, will surround a control center and dispatch, so the majority of cells will be viewable from the control center.

There will be an exercise area, a kitchen, a laundry room, a family visiting room and other amenities lacking at the current jail on East Clay Street. The new jail also will have more room for officers' offices, a break room and a meeting room.

Concrete was poured on upper mezzanine levels in the new jail last month, Hanson said. Contractors are finishing up the storm sewer around the building. The administrative area is 98 percent complete and is awaiting a coat of paint.

C & M Cooling, Heating and Plumbing is 75 percent finished with the HVAC, duct work is up and units are on the roof, Hanson said. Roofers should be back to complete the roof in the next few weeks.

Crews started pouring the foundation for the communications tower and communications building on Monday, May 6.

'We have enough (funding), and we've done more than we anticipated with purchasing a new tower,” Hanson said as one example. 'We need to make sure it's a complete project. That's our goal. That's what we're working with (Sheriff Rich McNamee) on and 100 others, it seems.”