By Tammy Gray The second stage of a $4.5 million jail renovation has started with the demolition of the old kitchen and booking facilities. All of the old kitchen and the booking area have been torn down and removed, and concrete has been poured for construction of the new sally port and booking facility. County Engineer Bill Bess explained that the construction is the simple part of the second phase. The difficult part is maintaining security and control systems as functioning parts of the jail are moved into the new space. He noted that the central control system, used to open doors and allow or disallow access to the facility, needs to be continuously operational even as it is being moved to the new area. The county has hired a security consultant who specializes in moving jail control systems during construction to oversee the process. Once the new control area is ready, the old system will be shifted bit by bit to the new area without disrupting the system. Sheriff K.C. Clark previously explained that the new booking and control area will offer higher security and safety, as well as more space for moving inmates in and out of the jail. The booking officers and control will have a direct line of sight to officers and individuals approaching the jail through the sally port. Previously, the area where most arrivals took place was only visible through video camera. The new booking area will also have separate areas for transporting existing inmates and booking in new ones to prevent unnecessary contact and traffic jams. Bess noted that construction of the new kitchen and laundry facilities is already complete, and the work on the new booking area, which is the second phase of the project, should be complete within a few months. The contractor working on the project has signed a guaranteed cost contract, which Bess explained means that the work cannot cost the county more than $4.5 million. “If the costs go over, the contractor has to eat that,” he noted. Clark had noted that the cost is being covered by refinancing old high-interest jail bonds. The savings found through the refinancing are being used to pay for the construction. He explained that in the long term, the expansion will save taxpayers money because the expansion is large enough to meet the needs of the county for the next 20 years without incurring additional debt. “When they got the first bond years ago the county had no credit,” Clark said. “Finance worked hard and got caught up on the audits, and now the county has a great credit rating.” The jail renovation includes new suicide-watch cells, kitchen dry goods storage, and enough washers and dryers to keep up with laundry demand. It also increases security and reduces the workload for staff by limiting the movement of inmates.