Ground Is Broken for Jail Project
A ground breaking ceremony was held last Wednesday, April 12, at the Jasper County Jail for a new 15,000 square foot jail addition and renovation project.
“Thank you for coming today,” began Sheri? Donnie Pope, o?cially kicking o? the ceremony. Expressing his gratitude to the many who have worked to make the construction of the new jail addition possible, including past commissioners and former sheri?s and past Public Facilities Authority (PFA) members and county commissioners, Sheri? Pope called the day a big day, an exciting day and one that was a long time coming.
“Tomorrow is my 27th anniversary with the sheri?’s o?ce. The jail was just barely a year old when I started. I couldn’t envision we’d need more space,” Pope said, shaking his head. “It is essential, people. It is essential,” he emphasized to the crowd of over 30 in attendance.”
Representatives from Precision Planning, the architects and engineers of the project; Barnsley Construction, the building partners of the project; the Sheri?’s O?ce; Jasper County Commissioners Bruce Henry, Sheila Jones and Don Jernigan; County Manager Mike Benton; Public Facilities Authority (PFA) members Bill Nash, Jim Thiele, Hal Harris and Deb King; Jasper County Chamber of Commerce Director Jennifer Lassen and several others attended.
The sheri? thanked everyone, naming each county commissioner, thanking them for their dedication to this project and for their commitment in making this happen.
Those taking part in the ground breaking (above) include (left to right) Cpt. Billy Bryant, Bill Nash, Bruce Henry, Cpt. Larry Mooney, Tracey Little, Cpt. Edward Walker, Sheriff Pope, Hal Harris, Don Jernigan, Jim Thiele, Sheila Jones, Deb King and Mike Benton.
“All of my folks at the Sheri?’s O?ce deserve to be mentioned,” Pope said for all of the work they do on a daily basis, making sure to mention the additional work done to date on this project by both Captain Walker and the jail maintenance supervisor, Tracey Little, “who maintains every piece of property Jasper County owns so he has his everyday job and now this,” the sheri? added.
“There has been a tremendous amount of work even to this point. This is a culmination of a lot of e?ort,” Sheri? Pope said, thanking the members he has dubbed the construction team that consists of Precision Planning, Barnsley Construction and representatives of the Sheri?’s O?ce.
“I have no doubt we’re in good hands. I trust you,” he told the construction team, adding, “Liz Hudson of Precision Planning is our voice of reason. She is the glue that holds all these construction guys together.”
Commission Chairman Jernigan thanked the voters of Jasper County explaining part of the money for the project will come from the recently voted on SPLOST. “There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears in this project,” Jernigan o?ered, thanking the e?orts of the commissioners, the sheri? and the PFA board. The PFA, created for the purpose of promoting the public good and well-being of the citizens of Jasper County, has the ability to enable ?nancing to provide long term capital projects including facilities, equipment and services within Jasper County.
Liz Hudson and the Precision Planning team are not new to working with Jasper County Sheri?’s O?ce. “Twenty-seven years ago I was involved in the design process in the building of this jail. In 1994 when I ?rst became an architect, this is the ?rst jail I ever walked into,” she told the crowd. It was her ?rst project as an architect and the ?rst year Sheri? Pope started as a Jasper County deputy.
The project has been almost 17 years in the making. PFA member Bill Nash, echoed by Sheri? Pope, shared that in written ?ndings presented to the o?ce of the sheri? back in 2007, the Grand Jury found an “extreme lack of usable work space” at the Jasper County Jail.
The grand jury has as one of its primary responsibilities to provide an annual review of government operations and make recommendations to improve its services. The annual grand jury reviews fall under the oversight of the Department of Justice (DOJ) which provides the laws governing the judicial responsibility for the sheri? for the care of those in his charge.
Sheri? Pope indicated that one of the biggest changes he has seen since his ?rst days on the job as a deputy is in the need for more female beds. “When I started on night shift 27 years ago, we’d rarely have a female. Now we have 12 to 13 females every day,” he stated.
A prayer by Pastor David Artessa blessed the building, the project and those who help us sleep peacefully at night, also praying, “my heart hurts a little that we need this.” After the prayer, with silver shovels in hand and construction helmets on, the many involved in the planning process o?cially broke ground for the jail addition.
The $10 million project includes adding 37 new jail bed spaces, increasing the total bed space to 101 beds. Sixteen of the new beds are for females, raising the total bed space for females from eight to 24; 14 are new maximum security beds, one is a padded bed space and a much needed six bed positive pressure medical unit is also included.
The positive pressure medical bay space allows for a separate ventilation system for the medical unit, an important piece in today’s ?ght against Covid and other infectious illnesses. Sheri? Pope explained that over time having a medical unit will not only better serve those who are housed, it can help keep medical costs down, telling me the current operating budget of $76,000 annually for medical costs can disappear with one hospitalization.
The 15,0000 square foot addition that will attach to the side of the jail and the 3,600 square feet of renovated space near the back of the jail will take the jail from its current 20,000 square feet to a total of 35,000 square feet. The new building addition will include an administrative building to house a secure evidence storage room, a new armory space, a 24 hour seven days a week administrative o?ce space for patrol deputies, a space for records and a training room.
Since the start of the construction team’s latest planning process 10 months ago, material costs have increased by 46 percent. This increase, on top of a jail being one of the most expensive buildings to construct due to the nature of its security needs, has already resulted in the elimination of 12 beds and two maximum security beds from the planning. The current project will be built with this in mind, thinking ahead of how to best add on when necessary in the years to come.
Three primary funding streams, Stanton Springs, a private-public partnership between TPA Realty Services and the Joint Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton Counties; Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) and revenue from local Impact Fees will fund the project.
Sheri? Pope shared that the sheri?’s o?ce has been creative over the years, using secured and monitored school lockers in closets for evidence storage, using the main entrance visitor’s lobby to conduct meetings for the entire department as no current room is large enough to hold everyone, sharing a 260 square foot room with 22 full time and 10 part time employees and having the over?ow of females sleep in something the jail sta? calls boats—a temporary plastic framed ?oor bedding mechanism with a thin mattress. The lack of space was and is particularly challenging in the days of Covid.
The projected construction completion date of the jail, located at 1551 Hwy 212 West, Monticello, GA, is May 17, 2024 with a wish date, weather permitting, as early as March 2024.
