Precast Concrete Module Jail Cells Being Installed Here
Population Capacity for the Ware County Jail Will Rise to 454; Room for 222 Beds is Being Added
By Myra Thrift, Waycross Journal-Herald
October 22, 2004
WAYCROSS, GA — Construction for Ware County’s addition to the existing jail is underway with several of the precast units delivered and already set up at the site on Harris Road in the industrial park.
Twenty reinforced concrete modules containing 40 jail cells have been delivered and are being constructed at the Ware County Jail, adding 222 beds to give the Ware jail a total capacity of 454 beds.
The population of the jail Thursday morning was 215 inmates.
“Man! This is going to be a big help to us,” said Ware County Sheriff Ronnie McQuaig. “And by doing it this way, we saved $1.4 million of the price of construction.”
The jail addition, approved as a $5 million project through the current SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax), was anticipated to cost $6.4 million with on-site construction. When this type of construction was learned about, commissioners and Ware County management investigated and found the precast type construction to be one of high quality and performance, with great savings to the county, said County Manager Gail Boyd.
“Commissioner Monk brought us this idea and we flew to north Georgia to check it out,” Boyd said. “We were very impressed. It really took a lot of hours to get the price right and this was the way we decided to go.”
Jay Flesher of Parrish Construction added that the commissioner’s intervention “...was a nice piece of work that will benefit everyone.
“If commissioner Monk had not hooked us up with the sheriff,” he said, “we would not have been in the position to help. We were able to up the bed count by 30 and bring them in well under budget, as well as renovating the existing cells and the booking area. We did a lot of work with the engineers, architects and everyone concerned to get the price within the budget.”
With the precast units being brought in by truck and placed on site by a huge crane, the complete project should be completed by early March.
The units are created of reinforced concrete, completely seamless to prevent jail breaks. Each cell is equipped with a stainless steel shower, a stainless steel sink and toilet, hooks for hanging clothing items, a mirror and two bunks. They have central heat and air conditioning.
The cells range from minimum security dormitory with eight bunk rooms and 64 beds to mid-level security with 32 beds to maximum security with 16 cells and 32 beds. The complex includes one activity room.
Design manager for the project was Jim Ingram of Ingram Parris Architecture in Valdosta. Precast manager was Randy Royal of Tindall Corporation in Conley, GA.
The project contractor and developer is Dallas Smith, senior project manager of Parrish Construction Group, which is general contractor for the construction.
Population Capacity for the Ware County Jail Will Rise to 454; Room for 222 Beds is Being Added
By Myra Thrift, Waycross Journal-Herald
October 22, 2004
WAYCROSS, GA — Construction for Ware County’s addition to the existing jail is underway with several of the precast units delivered and already set up at the site on Harris Road in the industrial park.
Twenty reinforced concrete modules containing 40 jail cells have been delivered and are being constructed at the Ware County Jail, adding 222 beds to give the Ware jail a total capacity of 454 beds.
The population of the jail Thursday morning was 215 inmates.
“Man! This is going to be a big help to us,” said Ware County Sheriff Ronnie McQuaig. “And by doing it this way, we saved $1.4 million of the price of construction.”
The jail addition, approved as a $5 million project through the current SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax), was anticipated to cost $6.4 million with on-site construction. When this type of construction was learned about, commissioners and Ware County management investigated and found the precast type construction to be one of high quality and performance, with great savings to the county, said County Manager Gail Boyd.
“Commissioner Monk brought us this idea and we flew to north Georgia to check it out,” Boyd said. “We were very impressed. It really took a lot of hours to get the price right and this was the way we decided to go.”
Jay Flesher of Parrish Construction added that the commissioner’s intervention “...was a nice piece of work that will benefit everyone.
“If commissioner Monk had not hooked us up with the sheriff,” he said, “we would not have been in the position to help. We were able to up the bed count by 30 and bring them in well under budget, as well as renovating the existing cells and the booking area. We did a lot of work with the engineers, architects and everyone concerned to get the price within the budget.”
With the precast units being brought in by truck and placed on site by a huge crane, the complete project should be completed by early March.
The units are created of reinforced concrete, completely seamless to prevent jail breaks. Each cell is equipped with a stainless steel shower, a stainless steel sink and toilet, hooks for hanging clothing items, a mirror and two bunks. They have central heat and air conditioning.
The cells range from minimum security dormitory with eight bunk rooms and 64 beds to mid-level security with 32 beds to maximum security with 16 cells and 32 beds. The complex includes one activity room.
Design manager for the project was Jim Ingram of Ingram Parris Architecture in Valdosta. Precast manager was Randy Royal of Tindall Corporation in Conley, GA.
The project contractor and developer is Dallas Smith, senior project manager of Parrish Construction Group, which is general contractor for the construction.
