The Johnson County Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to a contract worth $549,000 with the architecture consulting service Shive-Hattery. This will begin the process of building an updated sheriff’s office.

The original agreement with Shive-Hattery was from 2023, but an amendment was added to include services in preparation for a bond referendum vote, a public vote where voters can choose to use county funds for long-term projects, in November 2026. With this vote, Johnson County residents will decide if the county should begin construction on a new sheriff’s office.

The Johnson County supervisors have been considering construction on a new sheriff’s office  since 2023, when an assessment was conducted finding that the sheriff’s office and jail are on their last legs.

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According to the executive summary, these services include preliminary site design, site analysis, and hiring staff such as a construction manager. Education is another aspect Shive-Hattery will be focusing on as they look to make the public aware of the project before the referendum vote.

Because the funding for this project was not in the supervisors’ original budget, the money will be sourced using leftover funds from fiscal year 2026, which runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.

If the bond referendum vote passes, the county will select a construction manager and will begin work on the project. According to Shive-Hattery, the post-vote design and planning will take around nine months.

Johnson County plans to begin construction on the sheriff’s office in August 2027, which will take an estimated 24 months to complete, according to the executive summary.