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Show Wyoming jail visit profitable; commissioners continue analysis CEDAR CITY The Iron County Commission recently visited a correctional facility in Kammerer, Wyom., for the purpose of having a general contractor prepare an analysis report of the jail. According to Commissioner Dee Cowan, the contractor, Cal Carter of Carter Brothers Construction, will present his findings during the Commission's next meeting, as the Commission continues to analyse the current jail situation. People involved in building the Wyoming facility claim that it only cost $95 per square foot to construct the facility, stated Cowan. It was his opinion that the County may be able to construct a similar type structure for even a cheaper price than the Wyoming facility. "They overbuilt the jail cells," explained Cowan. The Wyoming jail cells are approximately 99 square feet, and according to state and federal standards jail cells only have to be 70 feet,, which is what the Commissioners are tentatively planning to go with, explained Cowan. Cowan added that at the present time nothing is conclusive. "We won't know exactly where we stand until the general contractor completes his analysis of the Wyoming jail, he said. Last November a bond election to build a new correctional facility for the County lost by a margin of 102 votes. If the new jail had been approved by the voters, it would have included not only the new jail, but also the Sheriff's Department, the Cedar City Police Department, the Ninth Circuit Court, justice of the peace court and possibly the County attorney's office. According to Cowan it would not only be impractical not to include all departments in one facility but "crazy to think that building two facilities can be cheaper than one." He also added that putting all the departments into one facility would save the taxpayers approximately $750,000. A major reason why the first bond election may have failed is because residents of the County could have felt that the jail would have been too expensively built, explained Commissioner James L. Clark. "But what the people don't understand is that the biggest cost to the County is not the construction costs, but the operational costs. We are looking at building a facility that utilizes a minimum number of people working in the jail, but also a facility that is secure and safe, commented Clark. The fact that the current jail is below standards for both new and existing facilities could cause the County legal difficulties somewhere in the future. |