Effingham County staff members figured out a way to cover a $435,000 shortfall for the $18.4 million jail and Sheriff’s Office.
Adam Kobek, project manager, said the difference can be made up by $281,900 in savings from the Goshen Fire Station; $200,000 in projected savings from the public works facility; $14,400 in savings from ambulance remounts; and $5,500 in savings from the Goshen generator. Those numbers total $501,800.
Kobek explained the numbers to county commissioners in a specially called meeting on Feb. 11 to approve a change order to build the sheriff’s office and to purchase furniture and video and data wiring for the project.
The $18.4 million total cost of the project includes $14.5 million for the jail, $2 million for the Sheriff’s Office and $1.9 million for financing.
Chairman Wendall Kessler asked Kobek if the interest and closing costs were not accounted for “into the mix of money, somehow.”
Kobek said the shortage was due to the project coming in slightly over projected estimates and financing costs.
“In my opinion, we can’t stop,” Kessler said. “We’ve got to finish it. I’m about finishing it correctly and not doing it halfway.”
Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie told commissioners that he had to give up some things he would have liked in the design of the offices, but no necessities that would jeopardize the security of the building.
The sheriff will have 18,500 square feet, up from 10,000 square feet he has now. But 6,000 square feet of that space will be an empty shell for future expansion.
McDuffie said plans call for the crime scene unit, humane enforcement and drug unit, all currently housed outside the sheriff’s offices, to be brought back “in-house.”
Commissioners agreed unanimously, with Steve Mason absent, to approve a change order calling for construction of the sheriff’s offices.
They also unanimously approved buying furniture for the jail from Modern Business in Savannah, for $18,600, with an additional $3,500 for 52 seats for the community room from a local retailer.
They also agreed unanimously to spend up to $53,000 to purchase data cabling and video distribution from Aiken-Harper Electrical Service in Garden City.
Kobek said testing of systems in the jail should begin in early March, with full occupancy of the jail set for late March.
The current jail and sheriff’s office has had issues with leaks and rust problems for years.