WILMINGTON — At Monday’s Clinton County Commissioners meeting, the members approved a capital improvement project proposed to them by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO).
The purpose of this project is to make sure the jail meets all the current standards required by the Construction/Renovation Criteria for full-service jails in Ohio. It’s also being done to have it comply with the Ohio Basic Building Code.
The project cost is estimated to be $3.3 million. The duration for the project is believed to be two years. This includes preparation, bidding, and construction. According to the application, the sheriff’s office started the formal planning.
Col. Brian Prickett, of the CCSO, said he and Sheriff Ralph Fizer Jr. had discussed the possibility of getting capital funds for this project.
“We got some modifications — not necessarily add-ons — for the jail. Because based on our population we didn’t think adding to the jail was reasonable,” said Prickett. “But because of female population changes, mental health issues, addiction issues, different things that are going on, we needed more counseling space in the jail. As well as some individualized lockdowns.”
Initially, the sheriff’s office was told there wasn’t a need for a new outdoor recreational area at the jail.
“We since found out that was bad information,” he said.
The project will see the existing area be turned into six “single cell pod areas,” according to Prickett. He added the importance of this is that in the event of a communicable, airborne type of infection that would get in the jail, they can put the infected in those cells to prevent a spread.
They would also be adding counseling rooms and individual arraignment rules. Prickett described the current facilities as “a great big classroom.”
