The Greene County Board of Supervisors opened the first round of bids for a new proposed jail facility, becoming one step closer to the official construction portion of the project. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office currently houses an eight-bed jail, but the cells fill up quickly due to the higher number of inmates. Greene County Sheriff Jack Williams says this project is something he has been supporting for quite some time now and feels a new facility will be the best way to continue serving Greene County.
Previous bids brought to the supervisors last year were two million dollars over budget. Williams worked with an engineering firm, cutting back on different aspects of the original project design. After a slight redesign, the project was opened back up for bid, which the supervisors reviewed on Wednesday.
After all 18 bids are officially opened, Williams says DCI Construction will review and compile everything together for approval.
DCI Construction says that once it’s started if no significant delays occur, the facility will be completed in around 18 months. Williams says that the project costs are around three million dollars below budget with the current bids.
Williams expects the project to cost around nine million dollars when all bids come in, with a one-million-dollar cushion for the bond referendum just in case. Williams hopes to have everything approved and finalized in the next two to three weeks.
