Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DRG consultant Gary Adams says Polk County's oldest jail wing may cost nearly as much to fix as to rebuild
Summary
DRG Architects' Gary Adams presented a feasibility study concluding the county's oldest jail wing has extensive mechanical and plumbing deterioration and that repair costs could approach those of constructing a new section; the court entered the report and staff will pursue smoke-purge testing once equipment is replaced.
Gary Adams, a consultant with DRG Architects, told the Polk County court that the county's oldest jail wing has serious mechanical and plumbing deterioration and that repairing it could be as expensive as building a new addition. "The old old jail is really at a point where you could probably spend as much money trying to get it up and running as you would spend if you went out and built a new section to the jail," Adams said during a presentation the court formally entered into the record.
The feasibility report, prepared by DRG Architects and included in the meeting packet, documents corroded cast-iron plumbing chases, worn detention mechanisms and aging HVAC equipment. Adams said the portion of the facility that was maintained after the 1980s and 1990s additions is in relatively good shape, but the oldest steel-built wing—used for records storage in recent years—has not been maintained and shows extensive deterioration.
Adams walked the court through recent inspections by civil, mechanical and electrical engineers and summarized the team's recommendation to limit work on the oldest wing to what is necessary for its current use. He described plans to install replacement fan motors, test smoke-purge systems and then invite state inspection for recertification if systems pass: "Once all that equipment's installed, then we can test it. If that passes, if the alarms work, the detention equipment, the locks, all those things work, then the state comes back, does an inspection, and y'all can start using it," he said.
The report notes the older wing remained on the jail commission's books and was never formally decommissioned. Adams recommended caution about extensive renovation until the court weighs the comparative cost of new construction versus restoring aged systems. The court took the report for review and invited follow-up questions; no binding decision to rebuild or fully renovate was made at the meeting.
The presentation concluded with a pledge from DRG to be on site for a smoke-purge test when county contractors install replacement equipment.
