A McLeod County Jail remodeling project is still shooting for completion Oct. 1 despite some delays along the way, according to Jim Werket of Honeywell’s automation and control solutions group.

Jail staff will begin training on the new security control room equipment Monday (Sept. 22). An open house for county employees will occur late next week or early the following week.

The project includes remodeling the jail’s security control room, updating security electronics, replacing air vents with more secure models, replacing intercoms, updating the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, and replacing circular lenses on lights, property storage cages, and electrical outlet plates with more secure versions. In addition, the jail will get a new roof.

Half of the ventilation diffusers have arrived, following a delay because incorrectly sized parts were initially sent. Werket reported the rest of the diffusers should arrive Monday or Tuesday, and will take two to three days to install.

One surprise cropped up, adding $6,921 to the re-roofing, when water was discovered beneath a three-inch concrete surface for the now-defunct rooftop inmate exercise area.

Over the years, according to County Building Services Supervisor Wayne Rosenfeld, moisture has penetrated through the concrete’s expansion joints. An 11-inch layer of insulation beneath the concrete is saturated with water and, in some spots, the concrete has “gone mushy.” The additional $6,921 will cover the cost of removing the concrete.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com [2])