Emma Calabro
A cracked wall is seen at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in Iowa City on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. During a tour of inmate cells, Sheriff Brad Kunkel discussed the overcrowding and building deterioration being experienced by the county’s jail.
A recent needs assessment evaluating the Johnson County Jail and Sheriff’s Office has led to progress in the discussion for an entirely new building.
The poor condition of the current facility, located at 511 S. Capitol St., was discussed in a Johnson County Board of Supervisors meeting in August 2023. During the meeting, the project management company Faithful + Gould reported the current facility should be demolished.
“Everybody can agree the existing building is at the end of its life,” Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel said.
Johnson County Facilities Director David Curtis addressed the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in a work session Wednesday morning to review proposals for the building.
“We’re all aware that the building’s lived its life, and that’s putting it gently,” he said before beginning his summary.
In his report, Curtis mentioned the roof leaking every time it rains, the air conditioning units being well past life expectancy, and exterior brickwork appearing to be failing.
The county received requests for proposals from three architecture and engineering firms: Axiom Consultants, Shive-Hattery, and Vantage Architects, Curtis said.
Curtis recommended the county continue to work with Axiom, an engineering consulting firm that completed a structural property condition assessment in 2023 and did ongoing monitoring of the structure in May 2024. The report states Axiom’s proposal is the most realistic for the county to follow.
According to Curtis’ report, there is $300,000 budgeted for jail construction, which would more than cover the approximately $36,500 project needed for basic repairs. The cost is subject to change based on Axiom’s initial investigations.
The final Johnson County Jail and Sheriff’s Office needs assessment report, a $75,000 study conducted by Shive-Hattery, was presented to the Board of Supervisors in a work session on July 10.
!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r