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New County Jail Gets Final Walk-Through
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| Yankton County Sheriff Dave Hunhoff (center) points out some features of the new jail to county commissioners Donna Freng and Allen Sinclair. The county officials, along with representatives of Architecture Inc. and Welfl Construction, did a final inspection of the jail Wednesday before it is eventually turned over to the county. (Nathan Johnson/P&D) |
Open House Is Planned For Later This Month
By Nathan Johnson
nathan.johnson@yankton.net
When taxpayers get the opportunity to tour the new jail later this month, Yankton County officials believe they will be impressed with what they see.
“The pride comes from the fact that it is such a nice facility and we did it for the cost we did,” County Commissioner Donna Freng said during a final inspection of the jail Wednesday before it is turned over to the county. “The timing was perfect. Obviously, if we would have waited any longer, it would have been a lot more expensive. It’s a beautiful facility. It works well. It addresses the safety issue for the inmates and the staff. If you’re not proud of it, you should come and I’ll show you around.”
As county officials, as well as representatives of Welfl Construction and Architecture Inc., inspected the jail, specialists worked to calibrate its security systems.
“There are a few minor things to be finished yet, but we’re very close to putting the prisoners in, using the kitchen and so forth,” Commission Chairman Allen Sinclair said.
Sheriff Dave Hunhoff said that once the facility is turned over to the county, his office has set a goal of preparing it for use within three weeks.
“We have a lot of things to do,” he said, reciting a list of items such as painting numbers on every bunk and cell, hauling in cabinetry, assembling beds and getting through a health inspection “One of the big things is training the employees. This is a whole new ball game. We also need to get all the other emergency services in the county familiar with it. If we get an ambulance call, we want them to know which door to back up to and how they’re going to get in.”
It’s within that three-week window that county officials plan to coordinate an open house so the public can see the jail first-hand, as well as the city and county law enforcement facilities that were completed last year. That is tentatively set for Oct. 15.
Along with the jail, a final inspection was done Wednesday of a renovated area of the old courthouse that will now house the Yankton County State’s Attorney Office, which is currently located in the Yankton County Government Center. The state’s attorney staff had already begun to move into their new home by the end of Wednesday.
Now the state’s attorney, law enforcement, prisoners and the courts will all be housed within the Yankton County Courthouse and Safety Center.
“That’s one of the really great things about this project — having everybody in one place,” Hunhoff said. “That is definitely not happening in a lot of other places. I’ve toured a lot of jails in preparation for the building of this. I’m constantly seeing brand new jails and sheriff’s offices being built in the country or on the edge of town. It’s got to be a major problem hauling those prisoners constantly back and forth to the courthouse. Anytime you do something like that, there’s some risk. We’ve avoided all of that.”
The new law enforcement area and some court system additions were opened late last year, while most of the renovated space for the courts was finished earlier this year.
The new jail will hold about 95 prisoners in a pod-style configuration that will allow jailers to have visual contact with the prisoners at all times through large tinted windows. Its proximity to the courts will allow prisoners to be escorted to hearings while never leaving a secure area.
Law enforcement will bring prisoners into the facility through a sally port. Its doors will be locked before inmates are even allowed to leave the vehicle.
Additionally, visitors will be able to speak with prisoners via a video-conferencing system. Inmates won’t even have to leave their cell block for the visitations, county officials noted.
“Nothing is ever perfect, but we feel like we’ve taken a lot of steps in the right direction,” Sinclair said. “It’s important to us to have a secure facility for the safety of the prisoners and officers, and that is convenient for the public.”
The only part of the project commissioners speak about with reservations are some portions of the heavy-duty jail ceiling that were criticized early on for having multiple cracks. However, it has now been made to look much better, commissioners said.
“That’s an issue where, cosmetically, that ceiling isn’t what you would have in your house,” Sinclair said. “Remember, this is a jail, and if the ceiling isn’t perfect — so long as it’s safe, secure and meets construction standards — we’re going to have to live with that. We think the construction people did their best to make it look right.”
In the coming months, construction crews will enter the final stage of the multi-phase Yankton County Courthouse and Safety Center project. Once prisoners are transferred into the new jail, the old one will be renovated to hold inmates eligible for work release and a juvenile detention facility.
County officials say they look forward to the opportunity to show the facility off to taxpayers later this month.
“I think it will be very interesting for the public to come and see this jail,” Freng said. “They hear us talk about it quite a bit ... but if they can see how this operates, I think they’ll be very impressed.”
“This is an opportunity where they can actually step in a cell and see what it feels like,” Hunhoff said. “I really would encourage people to come in and get a look at it, because once we move prisoners in, we’ll never be able to let people in the cell blocks.”
“The pride comes from the fact that it is such a nice facility and we did it for the cost we did,” County Commissioner Donna Freng said during a final inspection of the jail Wednesday before it is turned over to the county. “The timing was perfect. Obviously, if we would have waited any longer, it would have been a lot more expensive. It’s a beautiful facility. It works well. It addresses the safety issue for the inmates and the staff. If you’re not proud of it, you should come and I’ll show you around.”
As county officials, as well as representatives of Welfl Construction and Architecture Inc., inspected the jail, specialists worked to calibrate its security systems.
“There are a few minor things to be finished yet, but we’re very close to putting the prisoners in, using the kitchen and so forth,” Commission Chairman Allen Sinclair said.
Sheriff Dave Hunhoff said that once the facility is turned over to the county, his office has set a goal of preparing it for use within three weeks.
“We have a lot of things to do,” he said, reciting a list of items such as painting numbers on every bunk and cell, hauling in cabinetry, assembling beds and getting through a health inspection “One of the big things is training the employees. This is a whole new ball game. We also need to get all the other emergency services in the county familiar with it. If we get an ambulance call, we want them to know which door to back up to and how they’re going to get in.”
It’s within that three-week window that county officials plan to coordinate an open house so the public can see the jail first-hand, as well as the city and county law enforcement facilities that were completed last year. That is tentatively set for Oct. 15.
Along with the jail, a final inspection was done Wednesday of a renovated area of the old courthouse that will now house the Yankton County State’s Attorney Office, which is currently located in the Yankton County Government Center. The state’s attorney staff had already begun to move into their new home by the end of Wednesday.
Now the state’s attorney, law enforcement, prisoners and the courts will all be housed within the Yankton County Courthouse and Safety Center.
“That’s one of the really great things about this project — having everybody in one place,” Hunhoff said. “That is definitely not happening in a lot of other places. I’ve toured a lot of jails in preparation for the building of this. I’m constantly seeing brand new jails and sheriff’s offices being built in the country or on the edge of town. It’s got to be a major problem hauling those prisoners constantly back and forth to the courthouse. Anytime you do something like that, there’s some risk. We’ve avoided all of that.”
The new law enforcement area and some court system additions were opened late last year, while most of the renovated space for the courts was finished earlier this year.
The new jail will hold about 95 prisoners in a pod-style configuration that will allow jailers to have visual contact with the prisoners at all times through large tinted windows. Its proximity to the courts will allow prisoners to be escorted to hearings while never leaving a secure area.
Law enforcement will bring prisoners into the facility through a sally port. Its doors will be locked before inmates are even allowed to leave the vehicle.
Additionally, visitors will be able to speak with prisoners via a video-conferencing system. Inmates won’t even have to leave their cell block for the visitations, county officials noted.
“Nothing is ever perfect, but we feel like we’ve taken a lot of steps in the right direction,” Sinclair said. “It’s important to us to have a secure facility for the safety of the prisoners and officers, and that is convenient for the public.”
The only part of the project commissioners speak about with reservations are some portions of the heavy-duty jail ceiling that were criticized early on for having multiple cracks. However, it has now been made to look much better, commissioners said.
“That’s an issue where, cosmetically, that ceiling isn’t what you would have in your house,” Sinclair said. “Remember, this is a jail, and if the ceiling isn’t perfect — so long as it’s safe, secure and meets construction standards — we’re going to have to live with that. We think the construction people did their best to make it look right.”
In the coming months, construction crews will enter the final stage of the multi-phase Yankton County Courthouse and Safety Center project. Once prisoners are transferred into the new jail, the old one will be renovated to hold inmates eligible for work release and a juvenile detention facility.
County officials say they look forward to the opportunity to show the facility off to taxpayers later this month.
“I think it will be very interesting for the public to come and see this jail,” Freng said. “They hear us talk about it quite a bit ... but if they can see how this operates, I think they’ll be very impressed.”
“This is an opportunity where they can actually step in a cell and see what it feels like,” Hunhoff said. “I really would encourage people to come in and get a look at it, because once we move prisoners in, we’ll never be able to let people in the cell blocks.”
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