Talk about an image problem. Plunking a jail into the heart of a city whose moniker is “History on the Bay” was sure to draw objections.
When the county announced it would wipe out a residential block to build an expansive law enforcement center in central Oconto, critics said the building would be an eyesore that didn’t belong in the neighborhood.
“The initial perception of the jail addition by the community is that it was going to look like a prison (with) barbed wire fence,” said consultant Kurt Berner, vice president of The Samuels Group Inc.
Instead, the facility will blend well with the structures around it and fit with the community, based on designs presented to county officials on Wednesday.
“I think the public is going to like it,” Oconto County Administrative Coordinator Kevin Hamann said.
The $25 million facility, which will include sheriff’s department offices, a jail and 911 center, will be built north of the courthouse in Oconto.
Berner, along with representatives of design firm Potter Lawson, spent an hour Wednesday unveiling a site plan to the two county committees overseeing the design phase of the LEC. By the end of the presentation, the committees put their stamp of approval on the plan, set to be reviewed Feb. 19 by the County Board.
“I think we’ve got the initial design where we want it,” Hamann said.
He said the design process, which included input from sheriff’s department and technology services employees, committee members, along with the Oconto Fire Department and the city of Oconto, worked well.
“I’m satisfied that we’ve had our input,” Hamann said. “I hope that we’ve covered everything.”
Kevin Anderson, of Potter Lawson, said the feedback he heard during the design phase has been positive.
“We’re thrilled with the way this is going for us,” he said.
“I think it’s turned out well,” Sheriff Mike Jansen added. “I hope the construction part of it works as good as what we have done so far.”
Potter Lawson provided 200 pages of detailed drawings to the county, prompting Hamann to joke that the committee would review all 200 pages. Instead, Potter Lawson showed only specific images of the LEC, some that emphasized how it will complement the courthouse complex.
“We wanted the brick to work with the existing courthouse, but we didn’t necessarily want to match that. We wanted that (LEC) building to stand out,” said Ron Locast, of Potter Lawson.
He showed samples of bricks to be used on the exterior of the LEC, plus a concrete product for the exterior that resembles stone that will create texture and break up the scale of the building. Accent bricks, dark bronze window frames and brown metal panels will provide some “pop” to the color palette of the brick building. Also adding color will be reddish clay titles on roofs of the two main entrances to the LEC, matching the roof tile of the historic courthouse.
Landscaping ideas were also presented. City officials requested a buffer between residences and the parking lots, so the county plans to plant 5- to 12-foot-tall evergreen trees and shorter plants as screens between the asphalt and the homes. Additional landscaping will incorporate green strips of maple and honey locust trees, according to the Potter Lawson proposal.
The site plan provides two parking spaces per county employee, for a total of 404 stalls, which meets the city’s request for adequate parking at the site.
Potter Lawson also presented updated floor plans for the interior of the facility, in which special attention is paid to providing secure entrances for the public and employees and a secure corridor for the transfer of inmates from the jail to courtrooms.
The jail will provide housing for 150 inmates or 175 with double-bunking, although a future expansion could bump it up to 250 beds.
The jail design meets Department of Corrections standards for features such as skylights and security ceilings. The jail will have two programming rooms (the current jail has one programming room) and an indoor exercise area.
Once the County Board approves the design report, construction documents will be prepared, and the project will go to public bid as early as mid-June. Berner said the bidding process will take three or four weeks to complete.
Demolition of the 14 properties located north of the courthouse should be completed by that time, allowing the firms to look at the site and points where the LEC will link to the courthouse.
Construction is slated to begin in August and last 18 months.
Preliminary soil testing at the site has shown a need for a deep foundation, which Berner said could increase the cost of the project $200,000 to $500,000. Hamann said the additional expense will deplete the contingency budget for the LEC but shouldn’t substantially delay the project.
“Pretty much, we’re about a month behind what we originally planned, but that shouldn’t be that big of a deal,” he said.
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