County Board to vote on jail upgrades

The McLeod County Board will decide tomorrow (March 18) whether to approve security and energy efficiency upgrades to the County Jail. The estimated price tag for the work is $1.5 million, but Sheriff Scott Rehmann noted, “Those aren’t hard numbers yet … This is still kind of a work in progress.”

The project is meant to bring the County Jail into compliance with state regulations. The work will include:
• Replacing vents in unsupervised areas with vents that have smaller openings. The openings on the current vents are unsafe because an inmate could conceivably create a makeshift noose and slip it through the grate openings.
• Upgrading the air handling system to boost air pressure, which is needed because the new vents will be more restrictive. Air ducts and other system components will also be reinforced to handle the increased pressure.
• Reworking the air handling in two cells to allow detainment of inmates with airborne communicable diseases.
• Refurbishing or replacing the jail’s electronic security monitoring system, locks and intercoms.
• Replacing circular lenses on lights above shower areas. The current lenses are made from low-impact glass, which can be broken and used as a weapon. Shatterproof acrylic lenses will be used instead.
• Securing and replacing ceiling tiles in the jail’s work release area.
• Replacing property storage cages in the booking room locker area. Some of the current cages are broken and the loose parts could be used as weapons.
• Multiple upgrades to the jail’s heating, air conditioning, ventilation and security systems to make them more energy efficient. Projected annual energy savings will be $32,284. “We’re going to spend money,” Rehmann said, “but we’ll also in the long run recoup some of that cost.”

For more on this story, see the Leader’s March 18 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)