Construction of the Oconto County law enforcement center in Oconto is about 25 percent complete and on schedule for a July 2017 completion, according to the project manager.
Between 35 and 50 workers are at the LEC any given day, with close to 100 expected on site this summer as the building is enclosed and electricians, plumbers, dry wallers and other laborers ply their trades.
It’s been nearly six months since the groundbreaking ceremony in August.
Since November, masons have been setting cement blocks, placing Rebar inside and filling them with cement to form the perimeter walls of the 94,000-square-foot facility. When they finish, the walls will be 25 feet high.
As of Friday, workers recorded 190 days without a lost-time accident.
“And we’re expecting the complete project to have zero lost-time accidents,” Oconto County Administrative Coordinator Kevin Hamann said.
A mild start to the winter worked in the county’s favor, as 95 percent of the underground plumbing was completed. Masons worked through December without the need for enclosures because of the temperate weather.
When the temperature dipped, work areas for the masons were enclosed with reinforced poly sheeting and warmed with LP heaters, allowing them to work in T-shirts and sweatshirts despite the winter weather outside their enclosure. Work was canceled only one day when subzero temperatures and wind combined to create a bitterly cold day.
Starting in February, structural steel work will begin, with the placement of columns, beams and bar joists. Roofing is scheduled to start in February also, beginning in the kitchen and vehicle sally port and continuing around the facility to the inmate housing area, possibly by the end of February or beginning of March.
“Our aim right now is to get this enclosed so we can pump heat in there, then we’ll finish underground plumbing,” said Curt Schleicher, project manager with The Samuels Group.
The jail is scheduled to open for inmates in February 2017, with the project’s full completion scheduled in July 2017. That’s when the connection point between the LEC and the existing courthouse is scheduled to be completed.
The County Board on Thursday reviewed inmate population numbers that showed an average population of 75.8 inmates in 2015, down from 78.6 in 2014.
According to projections, the facility will reach a population of 141.7 inmates in 2035, which is considered to be full capacity for the 175-inmate facility because of the housing needs of different classifications of prisoners.
Hamann indicated the 2036 capital budget is set to include $8 million for an addition.
So far, there have been about $50,000 in change orders, with $1.3 million remaining in the contingency fund.
The County Board authorized $10,010 for Wisconsin Public Service to install gas and electrical service at the LEC. The expense wasn’t including in the bidding process completed in 2015 because there was only one supplier, Hamann told supervisors.
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