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| Jail Plans Put on Fast Track |
| By The Hutchinson News |
| Published: 12/05/2005 |
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Nevada's Reno County officials are racing to settle on a site and projected cost for a new jail. The jail referendum won't take place until the August 2006 primary election, but special state legislation is required for Reno County to raise the county sales tax above the current 1 percent. The Legislature convenes in January. Local officials want the legislation written by sometime in February. Such enabling legislation would include dollar amounts and specify how long the special countywide sales tax to pay for bonds would be levied. Treanor Architects' Dan Rowe said Tuesday the proposed jail could cost $18 million to $21 million. Commissioners are considering locations west or south of the Law Enforcement Center, but a site still needs to be agreed on and a price negotiated. Originally, Rowe said, he hoped small committees that would help county commissioners nail down specifics for the jail would be formed by the end of November. The committees - on finance, design, site selection and public relations - are being finalized, but that task probably won't be completed until the end of this week. Simplifying the process, however, was the recent decision to focus solely on the new jail. Remodeling of the Law Enforcement Center, which now contains the jail, will be treated as a separate follow-up project. That undertaking probably will cost about $2 million and will be financed by the county and city of Hutchinson, with a special bond election unlikely. County Commissioners had agreed earlier to contract Treanor Architects, Topeka. The proposed contract calls for the county to pay Treanor Architects $40,000, and, if the referendum passes, 8 percent of the cost of construction. "I think everything is too high," Commission Chairman Larry Sharp said, but 8 percent is not high when compared to architectural fees on other jails, he said. Percentage-wise, Rowe said, it is less than the architectural fee charged on jails built in Butler and Douglas counties. |
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