EFFINGHAM SHERIFF MOVES INTO NEW OFFICES
Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie and his staff have moved into newly renovated offices and are working out a few minor problems such as small roof leaks and locks that still need to be changed.
County commissioners on Jan. 6 tabled approving a certificate of substantial completion, saying they want McDuffie’s approval before they release final money for the $2 million project.
McDuffie said he wants a few minor things to be addressed before he’s ready to sign the certificate.
He said the offices have had a few small roof leaks caused by sheets of membrane not quite sticking down all the way at the edges. Contractors have been on the roof with hoses to find the leaks. Rain this week should find any additional spots that need to be sealed better, he said.
He said the jail, completed last year, has the same type of roof as the new offices. A few small spots had to be re-sealed on the jail roof when it was new. The jail roof hasn’t leaked again once the initial problems were fixed, McDuffie said.
County Commissioner Reggie Loper was concerned that the new roof was leaking and said he didn’t want to release final money until the problems were fixed.
“That’s the reason we built a new jail, because it was leaking,” Loper said at the Jan. 6 commission meeting. “If it’s leaking now, what’s it going to do 10 years from now?”
The previous jail had a flat roof and had massive leaks, with so much water running down the walls that staff called one window the “aquarium window.”
The leaks compromised the windows and ceilings in the jail, contributing to one inmate being able to kick out the ceiling and escape.
McDuffie said the new roof is sloped and the membrane goes over the edges so that water will flow into the gutters.
He said he doesn’t anticipate having the same leakage problems with the new roof.
The new offices include an interview room, where suspects can be questioned, and a “soft” interview room, which has more comfortable furniture that could be used when a child must be questioned.
Previously, the Sheriff’s Office didn’t have any interview rooms.
The new space also has a training room, replacing a small trailer that is parked behind the buildings.
McDuffie said the new space is more than double the size they had before. Adam Kobek, county project manager, said the sheriff went from about 10,000 square feet of office space to about 21,000 square feet.
The sheriff said staff members were able to do some of the work themselves and make some changes to save money so that areas that would have been left with bare timbers were finished with sheetrock and painted.
He said $45,000 had been budgeted for landscaping around the offices. Deputies, jail officers and administrative staff installed a sprinkler system and landscaping and, with the help of Southern Pride and Rare Earth landscaping, saved $35,000 of that amount.
And detectives said they would rather work in an open room, saving some money that had been earmarked to make more separate workspaces.