ALTAMONT, Tenn. - Grundy County's $6.56 million, 98-bed lockup has slipped a little behind schedule because of wet spring weather but local officials still says they'll be moving prisoners into their new digs in July or August.
Last year the project got about 45 days behind schedule because of an unusually rainy summer; this year's wet winter and spring has caused a delay of about 20 more days, Sheriff Clint Shrum said.
But he said the finish line is in sight now.
"It looks like the project will be wrapped up by about June 10," Shrum said.
Shrum said he wants correctional officers to be comfortable operating the new jail's systems before prisoners take up residence. All but five of 26 new corrections jobs are filled, he said. There also will be three more administrative positions in the larger jail.
Grundy's is the oldest and one of the last jails in rural Southeast Tennessee to be targeted for replacement. It hasn't been certified by the state since 1994, when its capacity was set at 32. Shrum said this month's average population was 68 inmates, though March numbers reached as high as 90.
Once Grundy's new jail opens, Franklin and Hamilton counties will have the oldest jails in Southeast Tennessee. Both were last expanded more than 20 years ago.
The new Grundy jail's plan is very similar to jails built in the last decade in Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties. It sits behind the Grundy County County Courthouse and will house 68 men and 20 women, with room to add more cell pods.
It will feature video-linked visitation and a space that could be made into an arraignment hearing room to save time for court officers and reduce security concerns.
Putting the new jail less than 100 feet from the back door of the courthouse caused parking problems, but County Mayor Michael Brady said the county officials agreed to buy about an acre of adjacent land on the north side of the courthouse. A drainage plan for the property is being studied.
County commissioners voted to pay $125,000 for the land but another option is being studied, Brady said. Another 36 spaces could be added south of the courthouse if the county acquires a 14-foot-wide strip of land on that side, he said.
Brady said officials need to decide quickly to keep up with the jail project.
"What we have to do is get what we need and still get what we can afford," he said.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com on Twitter @BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.