Chickasaw County to Look Closer at Remodeling Current Jail

Chickasaw County will take a deeper look at the possibility of remodeling and renovating its County jail.

The current facility in New Hampton is showing its age at over 60 years old and is in risk of being shut down by the state jail inspector if a long term plan for upgrades or replacement isn’t developed soon..

The County and the City of New Hampton combined to pay $20,000 for a feasibility study of a new joint law enforcement center. The Samuels Group proposed a facility with holding cells, booking area and office space for about $13 million. With interest payments and other fees, final costs could almost double.

During their regular meeting Monday, the Board of Supervisors voted to have Greg Samuels re-evaluate a makeover of the jail to bring it up to state code. 

The County will spend extra money for the new recommendations, but Supervisor Scott Cerwinske says it may be worth it for larger savings long term. 

Regardless whether the County renovates or builds new, Sheriff Ryan Shawver acknowledged a steep price will be involved.

The County and City explored forming a joint authority to share new building costs, with the County paying 75% and the City paying 25%. However, last week Supervisors opted to move forward with a County-only facility, which also likely means losing the option to build a new jail on land the City was willing to donate.

Thus, the County would have to find other County property or buy land to build a new facility on. Samuels cautioned the Board that demolishing the jail and building new on the current site west of the County Courthouse would still likely cost over $10 million.