County will seek another design option for jail

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com 

Floyd County will go back to its architectural and planning consultant for another design option on a new county jail, law enforcement center and modifications to the county courthouse.

County supervisors discussed the LEC project at a planning session Tuesday morning. They took no formal action, but generally agreed to ask Prochaska and Associates to provide a design option that stays entirely outside the 500-year floodplain.

Supervisor Mark Kuhn has been a staunch advocate for not building “critical infrastructure” within the 500-year floodplain.

He showed the other supervisors a photo from the 2008 floods where the Linn County jail in Cedar Rapids was completely surrounded by water.

“We don’t want that to happen here, especially when we’re at the point where we’re deciding where this could be located,” Kuhn said. “Let’s take that possibility off the table.”

An LEC citizens committee has already looked at several designs with single or multiple stories and in slightly different locations, but all — including the latest single-story design favored by the committee — would be built west of the courthouse and connected with it.

A Prochaska architect has said there is room to build the LEC completely out of the 500-year floodplain, but that wasn’t originally presented as a priority.

Also at the meeting Tuesday, supervisors began discussing whether a proposed bond referendum to pay for a new LEC should include more extensive renovations to the courthouse.

Preliminary designs already include some modifications to the courthouse in the areas where connecting hallways between the LEC and the courthouse would be located.

And the preliminary designs also include a new heating and air-conditioning system for the courthouse, to be shared with the LEC, and new windows and handicapped-accessible elevators and restrooms that would serve the courthouse.

But the supervisors also talked about other needed changes in the courthouse, including the need for a larger meeting space for the supervisors.

Some departments will likely be relocated because of changes required because of the connections to the LEC, and because the existing county jail would be removed from the top floor.

Supervisor Linda Tjaden said she recognized the need for some changes, but she also doesn’t want the potential bond referendum to become so large that it is difficult to pass.

Supervisor Chairman Doug Kamm, “I’m all for this bond issue spelling out, the jail is this portion, the other portion is doing something in the courthouse.

“Do you want to keep kicking the can down the road?” Kamm asked. “Do you just want to get by, or do you want to make it nice? If you want to make it nice you’re going to spend some money.”