Construction on a new, modern law enforcement center in Warren County is expected to begin in April of next year.
The new jail and sheriff’s office near U.S. Route 34 in Monmouth will replace the county’s century-old jail downtown.
At a special meeting this week, the Warren County board approved an ordinance authorizing the issuance of up to $23 million in bonds to fund the construction.
Chip Algren, former Warren County State’s Attorney and chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee formed to study options for a new jail, said the county will likely issue around $18 million in bonds for the project in the spring, following a public hearing next month.
The project is supported by a three-quarter percent sales tax increase approved by Warren County voters in April 2023. It went to effect on Jan. 1 of this year.
Algren said by April 2025, the tax increase will have generated more than $1 million. Combined with funds designated by the county board, the additional sales tax revenue will get construction going.
“We had $2 million that came in through COVID money. Then the county will have roughly another million dollars from its general fund to effectively put together a down payment of around $4 million come spring,” Algren said.
A committee including Algren, Sheriff Martin Edwards, Chief Deputy Jeremy Raymond, and County Board Chair Mike Pearson will now work to finalize designs with Ringland-Johnson Construction. Then the project will go out to bid.
“The design and the bidding process is going to take roughly four months. Then we’ll get the bids back, finalize that, and hopefully start construction around the first part of April,” Algren said.
Construction is expected to take 15 to 18 months.
The sales tax increase will then pay debt service on the bonds.
The county board also voted to make the new jail a 60-bed facility on the recommendation of the Citizens Advisory Committee.
Due to conditions at the current jail, Warren County has housed female inmates in other counties. With the new 60-bed facility, not being able to segregate men from women will no longer be an issue.
Algren said Warren County is already housing inmates from Henderson County and that’s expected to continue.
It’s possible Warren County could generate income by housing inmates from additional counties or even federal inmates in the new jail, but Algren said that’s not why the county is investing in the facility.
“When we went into this project, we did not go into it relying on housing other county inmates. If we were able to do so, fine, that brings in income. But we wanted to make sure that we could handle this project without relying on that outside income,” Algren said.
Instead, he said the county is investing in a new jail because the current one is outdated, unsafe, and structurally deficient.
“Our county jail is well over a hundred years old and it’s outlived its usefulness,” Algren said. “We’re going to get shut down by the Department of Corrections someday if we don’t do something.”
The county already owns the property on Industrial Park Drive where the new jail and sheriff’s office will be built.
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