During its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Aug. 5, the Limestone County Commission approved a resolution that will award a general contractor and expend American Rescue Plan Act funds to complete the construction of a new health care unit in the Limestone County Detention Facility. “Many years ago, the county had the foresight to build a new jail, they just didn’t have the money to finish it,” Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly told The News Courier after the meeting on Monday. “ARPA funding came along, and we are able to use that to help our inmates with health issues.” Daly said that the jail has become crowded with the increased intake of inmates and the funds for the new units will allow for more space to help alleviate that growing issue. “It’s going to be about a $3.5 million project to finish the construction that started all those years ago,” Daly said. “It’ll be really good to get everybody, from the inmates to the officers, more comfortable. We are trying to make more room, and it’ll add several beds to our jail.” The contract the commission unanimously agreed to will run for 280 days, with a 90-day window to get the construction started, according to Daly. He said that the commission is hoping the job will be completed and open for the inmates to utilize by this time next year. Limestone County Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin also talked to The News Courier after the meeting Monday, and he emphasized the importance of the “much-needed” funds to complete the health care units in the county jail. “Of course, when someone is in jail we are responsible for taking care of them — and that includes their medical needs,” McLaughlin said. “We currently have only one medical unit, so as we continue to grow it does get challenging. This has been a much-needed thing for us, and it’s truly a blessing for sure.” The 288 bed facility located at 101 W. Elm Street, which cost $9 million to build in 2005, currently holds more than 200 inmates. The completion of the extra units will not only add more space to hold more inmates, but it may not be a permanent fix, according to McLaughlin. “As Limestone County continues to grow, so do the jails,” McLaughlin said. “This will help us with the housing of the inmates for a little while, but with us growing as fast as we are, we will have to look at what we are going to do in the future.”

During its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Aug. 5, the Limestone County Commission approved a resolution that will award a general contractor and expend American Rescue Plan Act funds to complete the construction of a new health care unit in the Limestone County Detention Facility.

“Many years ago, the county had the foresight to build a new jail, they just didn’t have the money to finish it,” Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly told The News Courier after the meeting on Monday. “ARPA funding came along, and we are able to use that to help our inmates with health issues.”

Daly said that the jail has become crowded with the increased intake of inmates and the funds for the new units will allow for more space to help