GREENFIELD — Construction could begin on a new Hancock County jail by the fall, the president of the county commissioners says.
But that depends on how quickly county officials can bid out the project as well as line up financing, said John Jessup, president of the Hancock County Commissioners. The county has proposed building a 440-bed jail east of Greenfield at a cost up to $43 million.
The commissioners recently hired Garmong Construction Services, which has offices in Indianapolis, Terre Haute and Evansville, to be the project’s construction manager. The county sent out a request for proposal for construction managers and received three inquiries, Jessup said. Each had experience with jails, but Jessup said the commissioners preferred Garmong due to the company’s recent jail projects.
Garmong served as construction manager for an expansion of the Posey County Jail in Mount Vernon and also for a renovation of the Greene County Jail in Bloomfield, according to the company’s website.
Garmong’s contractor fees will be included in a yet-to-be-determined guaranteed maximum price for the project, Jessup said. That amount will fall in line with the $43 million price tag the commissioners approved in a resolution a few months ago. The guaranteed maximum price will also need to be established before the county sends out bids for construction and issues a bond to pay for the project.
“Bringing them on earlier should deliver us a better guaranteed maximum price than them not being involved in the design process,” Jessup said.
Until now, the county has worked only with RQAW, an Indianapolis-based firm. The county has paid RQAW about $2 million for design work since 2016, according to records from the Hancock County auditor’s office. The county will end up paying RQAW at least $3.36 million for the project.
The two-story jail is planned to be built on a nearly 20-acre parcel on county-owned property along U.S. 40 between North County Roads 400E and 500E. The proposal includes 1½ operational jail pods with space for 304 dormitory-style beds, 136 cells, a kitchen, laundry facilities, medical offices, intake, 22 padded cells and multipurpose classrooms. The second-floor mezzanine is designed to have cells and dorm beds overlooking the ground floor. Half of one of the pods and part of the second floor would be “shelled” for future use. Multiple dormitory blocks will also offer recovery programs.
For months, the Hancock County Council has waited to secure funding to pay for the project. The county plans to raise local income taxes — money collected through paychecks — by 0.2 percentage points for the next 22 years. A wide-ranging bill about government matters that Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb recently signed into law extended the time frame counties can collect the tax, from 20 years to 22 years.
Since Hancock County’s original ordinance raising income taxes, which was discussed at a public hearing in February, referred to the 20-year timeline, the county has to re-introduce the tax hike. The council will meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 23 in the Hancock County Annex for a new public hearing.
On Wednesday, the council voted 5-1 to re-introduce the income tax increase. Bill Bolander, Jeannine Gray, Kent Fisk, Mary Noe and Jim Shelby voted in favor and Martha Vail opposed. Debbie Bledsoe was absent. Vail said she disagreed with having a public hearing in the morning; she prefers evenings.
The tax increase — a shift in the county’s rate from 1.74% to 1.94% — would go into effect in October.
The county also plans to issue a revenue bond to get funds sooner for the jail. A revenue bond is a type of municipal bond that finances income-producing projects. The council has to approve the income tax increase before issuing the bond. Proceeds from the tax increase would then be used to pay off the loan.
Jessup said the jail might open as early as March 2021, if the timeline stays on track. The county also plans to build a sheriff’s office next to the jail and complete the empty half-a-pod in future years. Officials have discussed issuing general obligation bonds, which get paid for by property taxes, to fund those projects.
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What: Hancock County Council will hold a public hearing on raising the local income tax from 1.74% to 1.94% to fund the new county jail.
When: 9 a.m. Thursday, May 23
Where: Hancock County Annex, 111 American Legion Place, Greenfield
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Garmong Construction Services” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Founded: 1923 in Terre Haute by Claude H. Garmong.
Offices: Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Evansville
CEO: David L. Hannum, who is the fourth generation to run the family business.
History: The company started as a homebuilder and over the decades transitioned into commercial engineering and construction. It now manages a broad range of projects, from schools to medical facilities to jails.
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