What that $73.8 million estimate would buy for the county is a 256-bed jail that could hold up to 304 inmates, if the county used a permitted option to double-bed 25 percent of the cells.  Additional ‘pods’, each with a capacity of about 50 inmates, could be added, for an estimated $5.2 million each.  Pods could be added in the future if more capacity is needed …

While the first estimate on a jail, a year ago, was well over $100 million, and the project has been downsized while still compliant with state mandates, the new figure is not sitting well with county officials.   “Shocked” was the reaction of Republican legislator David Sager, who said he was “dismayed” that the cost didn’t go down a bit more.  “None of us are happy with that”, claimed County Treasurer Ira Cohen, who said he had serious concerns about “affordability and future debt management.”

Kukuvka said they are looking at every way possible to trim costs further, even going so far as subdividing pods to accommodate different classes of inmates in a single pod.   The tentative timeline is to be able to go to bid, perhaps by November of this year, break ground in early 2010, and open the jail in 2012.