Rains this spring hampered construction at the Coahoma County Justice Complex, but the wall are up and the roof is on with finishing crews busy this week inside.
“We had 39 rain delay days when we didn’t get much done,” said Sylvester Fleming, job foreman for Benchmark Construction, the main contractor for the process. “We’ve made up a lot of those days and we’re inside now. Things are going as quick as they can.”
Landscaping crews were busy grading the grounds and sloping earth so water runs away from the building Tuesday morning. Most interior metal studs, wall paneling and lighting fixtures are up and electricians are busy pulling wire.
“We don’t have power yet and we’ve got work that requires a controlled climate to do,” said Fleming. “We’ve talked with the power company for six weeks and they have hit a snag on setting our transformer. It’s always something.”
Fleming said there are from 24 to 30 workers busy at the site every day.
The $12.49 million detention center was slated to open this fall, but that date has been pushed back to late in 2019. The new jail will replace an aging facility that has roof problems. The old building has been renovated several times since it was built in 1996.
“We had an old jail with foundation issues and prices we got to fix it were around $5 million and there were no guarantees,” said Board of Supervisor President Paul Pearson. “We decided it was time for a new facility.”
And as the project heads to completion, supervisors have asked to be kept abreast of expenses and bill and possible cost overruns.
The county is using a general obligation bond to pay for the facility. Supervisors began looking at the possibility of a justice complex in January 2016 when they recognized increasing maintenance costs and needs to improve offices for both the sheriff’s department and justice court loomed on the horizon.
And all county law enforcement and courts will be in one spot. A justice center will allow the public to handle all court and law enforcement business at one spot. A centralized facility will also reduce the time and manpower necessary to transfer inmates from the jail to court and back. Having deputies in and out at the Sheriff’s Department also provides additional manpower at the jail in the event of an emergency.
The county is in the process of building a road to the site and has completed dirtwork and grading.
The new jail will actually be smaller than the existing facility which has 177 beds. The new jail will have 155 beds.
