Justice Study Public Hearing Scheduled For Monday, June 3rd

By: Matt Crane / Dubois County Free Press

JASPER -- The Dubois County Justice Study Committee will host a public hearing to discuss options for the Justice System Study at the Jasper City Hall, council chambers, at 6 p.m. on Monday.

This will be an opportunity to learn more about the findings and progress of the study, to ask questions, and to comment on the study.

Members of the Justice Study Committee and the architectural firm compiling the results will be in attendance.

RQAW has provided two options for the Justice Study Committee to consider for updating the jail and community corrections facilities.

One option is to expand the current jail building. This would include remodeling the entire facility — a previous study determined the design was obsolete. The goal would be to increase the number of beds to accommodate between 244 and 270 inmates. This option also includes adding a building for the Dubois County courts and would expand community corrections as well. This is estimated to cost about $43.1 million.

The second option is to purchase the Old National building across from the Jasper Police and Fire Departments on Sixth Street. The county would still need to expand the building to add beds for inmates as well as have to extensively renovate the existing building. This option also includes expanding the existing community corrections facility. The cost is estimated to be about $50.8 million.

Here is a draft copy of the plans.