Pictured: The Free and Accepted Masons of the Grand Lodge of Iowa conducted the ceremony Saturday morning in the jail’s lowest level.
Work at the new Carroll County jail is nearly finished and officials are hosting an open house this weekend to give the public their final opportunity to see the inside before the facility begins holding prisoners. Residents could walk through the structure from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. yesterday (Saturday) as well as today (Sunday). Saturday’s open house was marked with a cornerstone dedication ceremony conducted by the Grand Lodge of Iowa, Free and Accepted Masons. Iowa Grand Master, Bill Post of West Des Moines, led the dedication ceremony.
The Carroll County Board of Supervisors began this project more than five years ago with the formation of a jail committee to explore the feasibility of building a new jail to replace the existing one, which was close to being closed by state inspectors. Board Chair, Gene Meiners, says it was challenging path from start to finish, but he and the other supervisors are thrilled to see the project nearing completion.
Initially, bids for the jail came in about $1.5 million over the architecture firm’s original estimate. Meiners says they were able to bring the final cost down significantly through value-added engineering. As it stands, the jail is expected to come in about $157,000 under budget. Sheriff, Ken Pingrey, offers his sincere gratitude to the people of Carroll County for supporting this project that will make staff and local communities safer.
Again, the new Carroll County jail is open until 4 p.m. this (Sunday) afternoon. Officials are anticipating it will be ready to begin housing prisoners by the end of the year.
