def #260

def #260 12/09/09

JAIL EXPANSION WORK ADVANCES; PROJECT ON SCHEDULE

TOMS RIVER – Work on the 140,000 square foot expansion of the Ocean County Jail continues to move forward and on schedule.

“The project continues to move along smoothly,” noted Freeholder John P. Kelly, who serves as Director of Law and Public Safety. “We expect that it will be completed on time by the end of 2010.”

Since July, work on the project has advanced steadily and in recent weeks the erection of 839 precast panels has been completed.

“To look at the building from the outside, the work looks close to complete,” Kelly said. “Using precast panels that were brought into the site and erected with the help of a 315 foot crane helped expedite the work and also helped reduce the cost.”

In 2008, the county awarded a contract to New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company, Inc. of Pennsylvania in the amount of $15,150,000, for the housing units that were delivered. A total of 182 new inmate cells are now in place.

By pre-ordering the units the county assured having them available when they needed to be installed and saved money for ordering them early.

Now that the precast panels are in place the next phase of the work includes the installation of the mechanical systems, electrical work, plumbing work, duct work, installation of piping. Once that is complete, the ceilings will be installed and the finishing touches will be added to the project.

A change order in the amount of $322,387 is expected to be approved by the freeholders for upcoming work. The money will be paid out of the $2 million contingency in the project’s budget and will cover the costs of additional energy efficiency items, enhanced security upgrades and improved long-term maintenance items.

“We continue to be within our budget for this project,” Kelly noted. “It is not unusual for a project of this size to undergo some changes during the actual construction.”

Kelly noted that as the construction work continues it has not caused any disruptions in the work that goes on in the Justice Complex, which also houses courtrooms, the Sheriff’s Department and other offices.

“The construction of the jail expansion is relatively self-contained,” Kelly said.

Kelly noted the county has been closely working with officials from Toms River Township and the Toms River Business Improvement District to make sure those most affected by the project are informed of what is occurring during the construction.

“We are working together with Toms River Township in order to be a good neighbor during the construction,” Kelly said.

Courthouse Lane and Sheriff’s Street, which were closed to traffic while the precast units were brought to the construction site, will reopen Monday, Dec. 14.

“Safety is a priority for this Board,” Kelly said. “It’s important we take all the appropriate measures to make sure those citizens using downtown Toms River are not inconvenienced but more importantly not put into harm’s way during this project.”

To accommodate the work the county had to reduce some of the parking in the area of the Ocean County Justice Complex. Visitors however are encouraged to use the Ocean County parking garage, located on Madison and Hadley avenues just a short distance from the justice complex. Visitors parking in the garage can access the Justice Complex by using the overhead walkway across Hooper Avenue.

Work on the addition to the Ocean County Jail on Hooper Avenue, here, got underway in late 2008. The current jail is located on the fourth and fifth floors of the Justice Complex.

The contractor doing the jail expansion is Patock Construction Co., Tinton Falls at a cost of $36,690,000.

The county is adding space for an additional 400 beds, which would increase the jail capacity to 680 beds.

The proposed expansion includes the construction of new space at the rear of the Justice Complex and a two-story addition on the south side of the existing building. It includes a new medical unit, intake and release area, records room and video visiting area for the public. All inmate areas will remain within a maximum-security perimeter.

According to a needs assessment completed in 2005, since 1985 when the Board of Freeholders opened the jail atop the Ocean County Justice Complex, the County’s population has increased by almost 200,000 people. Since that time period, new mandatory sentencing laws have gone into effect resulting in longer jail terms; municipalities have employed more police officers resulting in an increase in patrols and arrests.

The combination of both increasing admissions at the Ocean County Jail and increased average length of stay has created a higher average daily population at the jail according to the study done by Carter Goble Associates, Inc. The current average population at the facility routinely exceeds more than 500 inmates while the jail was built to hold 280.