The new Douglas County Jail cost more than first projected, but county officials say the expense was worth it.
From a distance, Douglas County's newest government building resembles a castle, its entry turret worthy of a battalion of archers.
But the new county jail is designed to keep Douglas County's criminals in, not to keep invaders out.
And county officials say they don't want the design to suggest opulence so much as security.
They spent more than planned, but they say the county has a facility it can be proud of for decades to come.
The new Douglas County Jail off Kansas Highway 10 east of Lawrence was approved by voters as part of a 1994 sales tax election.
The original concept was an $11 million, 170-bed solution to overcrowding at the county jail.
That cost estimate grew, first to $15 million, then to $19 million.
And the completed 196-bed jail now is expected to cost $22 million, a number that doesn't sit all that well with county officials, even some who made the decisions boosting the cost.
"The only time that a $22 million figure wouldn't bother me is if I won it in the lottery," said Louie McElhaney, a former county commissioner who was delegated to oversee the jail's construction.
The public can get a look at it's investment beginning 10 a.m. Saturday with a jail dedication and open house. The cell doors will be open and staff will be on hand until 3 p.m. to answer questions.
The county plans to move inmates to the facility beginning Sept. 11.
Driving costs
McElhaney said county officials first thought they should build a separate work-release facility to ease jail overcrowding. That idea was abandoned in favor of a proposed jail expansion south of the current jail at the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th. That plan, in turn, gave way to a completely new jail on a new site.
Costs mounted with the purchase and improvement of 22 acres. Competition for construction workers drove costs up, too.
"It wasn't like we said it was $10 million, and now it's $20 million and we're just stupid," said Mark Buhler, a former county commissioner. "There were some reasons."
Buhler said some of the increase in price was driven by Lawrence residents, who objected to the initial plan to put the large, institutional building downtown.
"I didn't blame the neighborhood at all for the concerns they had," he said. "I didn't want to move it out there. " It blew a pretty good hole in us."
McElhaney hasn't seen the completed jail, so isn't sure yet if he will consider it too extravagant.
"I don't think it should be real elaborate," he said. "But I don't think it ought to be nasty. I don't think it ought to be ugly."
Containing and sturdy
The new jail is not ugly.
The public areas are adorned with wood, decorative I-beams and stainless steel light fixtures.
"It's supposed to look containing and sturdy," said Sheriff Loren Anderson.
With wide, well-lit hallways, a stainless steel-adorned kitchen, airy common areas and not a bar in sight, the structure has the feel of a high school rather than a jail.
Such amenities go with today's new generation of jails, which no longer resemble the traditional jail model with rows of barred cages, said Tom Merkel, detention director for Shawnee County.
The difference can be startling to members of the public, Merkel said.
"There is something about it that just doesn't feel right," he said. "It's like, 'Well wait a minute, these guys shouldn't be able to play basketball.'"
But there is a reason for the relative luxury, Merkel said.
The jail design is driven partially by new jail standards that include supervision requirements and mandated levels of natural light and space.
The design also is expected to offer the benefit of helping jail officers keep order.
"Environment dictates behavior to some extent," Merkel said. "There is a real value in controlling behavior."
There is value, as well, in choosing glass over bars, wood over steel doors and porcelain sinks over steel: They cost less.
Room to grow
One place jail officials didn't pinch pennies was infrastructure. The jail has a heating and air-conditioning system that will accommodate a long-term plan for an eventual 100-bed addition.
Shawnee County made a similar investment when it spent more than $14 million to build a 180-bed jail in 1987, Merkel said. The investment paid off, allowing the county to add 300 beds recently for $7 million.
Merkel said operating efficiency is more important than building costs.
"Far too often people focus way too much on the capital expense of construction," Merkel said. "Over the 20-year life span of a project like this " what you find is the actual construction costs are probably less than 20 percent of your overall expense."
Anderson said the new jail is designed to run with a minimum of jail officers.
The county did spend extra on exterior design elements such as the turret. But Buhler said the exterior design is important for residents who must live with the building as part of their skyline.
"It's going to be there a long time," Buhler said.
Safety first
For Anderson, safety is more important than beauty. Safety is a priority emphasized each time he takes a call from a mother worried about her recently arrested son.
"I'm going to feel a lot better about saying, 'He's going to be fine,'" Anderson said. "He's not going to like it, but he's going to be all intact."
Anderson said a county jail has a different role than a prison.
"We're for housing, not for penalizing," he said. "As a general rule, punishment in a county jail is not the focus."
The project is deemed a success by Douglas County Commission Chairman Dean Nieder, who inherited the project from his predecessors.
"Of course, early on I was disappointed the thing went from $11 to $22 million," he said. "But we've got a jail now I think we can be proud of and will do this community for a long, long time."
-- Kendrick Blackwood's phone message number is 832-7221. His e-mail address is kblackwood@ljworld.com.
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