FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WFRV) – Fond du Lac County supervisors took a major step forward on the path to potentially build a new county jail.
In a 17-5 vote, supervisors approved moving forward with schematic designs for a potential new jail project. They also greenlit a study into the current jail population.
Venture Architects, LLC will do the phase one jail project schematic designs. They will focus on two locations for a potential new jail. The first is across from the current jail on Western Avenue, and the second is a vacant piece of land on Scott Road near the county highway department.
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A company called Just Us Service Group, LLC, will conduct the study on the current jail population. They will try to determine how many beds a potential new jail would need and also look at the feasibility of different jail diversion programs to help keep the jail population down in Fond du Lac County.
All of this will cost the county about $211,250. County officials said that it’ll come out of their contingency fund for major projects.
Aging infrastructure and narrow hallways/cell entryways have created significant safety concerns for deputies and inmates. There’s also overcrowding in the jail. Officials with the sheriff’s office said they need to do something with the jail to remain compliant with the Department of Corrections code.
