The Carroll County Jail Committee welcomed architects from a firm in Des Moines Tuesday to review renderings of a proposed new jail. In recent meetings, Carroll County officials tentatively selected an area to the west of the courthouse for the project. Shive-Hattery Architects, Michael Lewis and Steve Davis, designed a two-story, 16,800 square-foot building to meet space restrictions and government-mandated requirements at the county’s request. Lewis says they have tried to incorporate elements of the courthouse into the jail’s appearance.
According to the project engineers, this area would be the most cost-effective and safest option for a new facility. Due to changes in housing and supervision requirements since the current jail was constructed, the proposed layout dwarfs the existing jail and has a footprint similar to that of the courthouse. Barry Bruner, a Carroll resident, says he has concerns about putting such a large structure in the city’s downtown.
Councilwoman, Carolyn Siemann, suggested moving the jail to an offsite location to not interfere with the city’s downtown theme and allow for more freedom in design. Supervisor, Neil Bock, responded by saying that option was considered, and they determined designing a jail adjacent to the courthouse was more practical.
The proposed jail would be situated on an existing parking lot and would eliminate those spaces from use. It is possible to construct a private garage beneath the structure, and several people in attendance were against eliminating almost two dozen spots from the courthouse. The architects took these comments into consideration and will return with options that incorporate these components. Renderings of the proposed jail can be found below this story.
