Renovations at the Douglas County Jail have forced some inmates into different living quarters.
Work-release inmates at the jail have been moved into a trailer, similar to those used at area schools as "portable" classrooms.
"It's a temporary facility, and inmates won't be housed there for more than a month," County Administrator Craig Weinaug said.
Only work-release inmates - who are permitted to continue employment outside the jail while serving their sentences - are being housed in the trailer.
Weinaug said the trailer has electricity and guards on duty at all times. But inmates will continue to use the jail for showers and the restroom because the trailer lacks running water.
Douglas County Sheriff Lt. Kari Wempe said inmates were being held in a safe and secure manner.
"Any facilities that the sheriff's office uses to hold inmates, we make sure that they are within the standards of the American Correctional Assn.," she said.
The renovation project at the jail centers on the area where work-release inmates have been held. There have been 56 beds at the jail set aside for work-release inmates, but generally they are not all used. The jail has experienced an increase in population, causing the need for more beds for general inmates.
The renovation will allow 20 to 25 beds for other prisoners. It also will include a new recreation area for those prisoners.
Work on the project should be completed in September, and so far it's on schedule, said Sheriff Lt. Steve Brown, who works at the jail.
The Douglas County Jail opened in 1999 and has 196 beds; 56 have been used for work-release inmates, 25 for women inmates. That left 115 beds for the general jail population.
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