By JANELL HUNTER

Times Leader Staff Writer

WOODSFIELD — Monroe County Jail construction project managers say the$15.5 million state-of-the art facility that will also house the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department is on track to open in December as planned.

The jail side is expected to be completed in September, which would allow county officials to hire and train workers on site so they can be ready to take inmates by the end of the year.

The sheriff’s department currently has no operational jail to house those charged with a crime and sentenced in county courts. Therefore, the county must transport all inmates to jails in Noble, Washington and Jefferson counties and house them there at a cost of at least $60 per day.

Monroe County Commissioner Mick Schumacher arranged a recent media tour of the jail construction site with Granger Construction project managers Darwin Hosking and Evan Schroeder. Hosking serves as the project’s superintendent, while Schroeder serves as project engineer.

“It’s rare when we run into a situation where the owner doesn’t have a current facility,” Schroeder said.

“There is not a current procedures list, we’re not adding onto a facility, this is brand new. Granger is turning over (the jail portion) of the facility for on-site training because there will be all new staff. Central control and housing units will be completely done, all new staff can come in and learn how to operate doors, get a feel for the facility, how it’s going to run, how it’s going to operate before inmates come in here.

“Once inmates are in, it’s too late.”

The 114-bed facility is about 45 percent complete. It is divided into four housing units with one central control area.

The jail will have a large industrial kitchen, laundry, a detoxification area for inmates, a special needs area for inmates, a visitation area, a medical area, several holding cells and a commissary. The facility will also have a “sally port” intake area — a secured garage area for vehicles.

“There are no spots that cannot be seen from central control. The design is made to be really functional with minimal staff. Three people will run the facility — one operator, one rover and one intake and booking officer,” said Schroeder.

Officials plan to designate one of the dormitory units to house 30 female inmates. The facility is designed so that there will be no interaction between male and female offenders housed there.

“There is a block wall that separates the female dorm from the male dorms,”Hosking said. “There is no way for the guys to ever know that there are females next to them — no way they would ever have contact the way the building is designed.”

County officials are hoping to make money from its ability to house female inmates, which many counties are not able to do. Monroe County Sheriff Charles Black said the county would charge $55 to $60 a day to house female inmates from other counties.

“Most county jails are overpopulated with females and need to find a place to house them, and we will be able to do that with the new jail,” Black said. “I have to consider this a business, and I will always consider how much revenue I can bring in.”

Each housing unit will have its own common area with several tables and a television. Sleeping areas are open with single and bunk beds, and inmates will be served meals in their common areas.

If an inmate has commissary privileges, visitors may put money in his or her account with a credit or debit card so the incarcerated individual can buy snacks and other items.

“The facility has a backup generator, redundant internet service and redundant power service,” Hosking said. “These are required because the sheriff’s department will house the 911 center. Theoretically, the building can’t ever go down.”

A redundant power supply has two or more units, where each can supply the full amount of power to the system. If one fails, the other will take over so that the system never goes down.

“And this is the place to be if there was a tornado,” Schroeder said.

“The walls are solid concrete with steel reinforcement every 8 inches vertically and horizontally,” added Hosking. “Theoretically, you can’t get your head through an 8×8 square. And even if you get your head through there, you can’t get your shoulders through them.”

Granger has met all progress milestones for the project so far, and the roof should be completed this weekend.

“We are right on schedule. We had such a mild winter that we didn’t really get into trouble schedule-wise,” said Hosking. “We had a lot of rain, but it didn’t really impact the project. And when the roof is completed, weather will not dictate progress at all anymore.”

Monroe County Commissioner Mick Schumacher said he is “very pleased with what a good job Granger is doing on this project.”

Schumacher said the county will be “ahead of the game” because the brand new facility will be in compliance with all regulations from the Bureau of Adult Detention.

“Caldwell’s jail was built 20 years ago and Marietta’s was built 10 or 15 years ago, and some of the rules have changed,” Schumacher said. “They’ve got to spend money to make upgrades to be in compliance.”