A ribbon is cut, opening the new Warrick County jail. WNIN’s John Gibson was there:
Sheriff Michael Wilder says the new Warrick County Sheriff’s Office and Security Center on Hyrock Blvd., west of Boonville, is a big improvement:
"We're going from a 30,000 square foot 120-bed facility to a 83,000 282-bed facility. But not only that, it's giving us access to stuff we never had at our old jail such as training rooms, different things. So, this is just a lot of space for all of my deputies, and my staff, and our inmates."
Wilder says the additional space is needed:
"Covid did change our numbers shortly —because of Covid — but we're climbing right back up there so yes, we needed this bed space as well as just the office space for all of our staff."
The sheriff also says the new center was expected to cost 57-million dollars:
"It was budgeted at 57, on bid day it came in at 54, and we're hoping to give back 3-to-4 million. Hoping this project somewhere will actually cost this county around 51 to 50 million."
Officials say the new jail was paid for by local income tax, not an increase in property taxes.
