The Douglas County jail is critical to the emergency response system, so it must stay up to date.
Last week voters passed a $45 million safety bond for Douglas County and a portion of that money will go to help updating the jail.
“If police arrest them, they have a place to go, that place has to be safe and has to be secure,” said Director Mark Foxall.
The jail can hold up to 1,400 inmates, and since opening in 1978, beds and housing units have been added and the infrastructure has aged.
“If we continue to run those housing units 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, that is a lot of pressure on older units,” said Foxall.
The money from the bond will help update several parts of the jail.
“We need to update the doors so they can be controlled from a single point as opposed to a correctional officer unlocking each one of the doors individually.”
Foxall said the door upgrades are important for his officer’s safety and inmate’s safety as well.
There are plans to also update plumbing and HVAC systems along with adding updated fire suppression equipment.
Some windows will be replaced where they are scratched and hard to see through.
Foxall said these items need attention, and the bond will help achieve it sooner,”I think this is something that needs to be done right away.”
The timeline for work to get started hasn’t been finalized, the county hopes to know more next week.
