Council approves zoning change for jail construction project
Several trees were cut down on the west side of the county’s property in Prairie du Chien. The replacement jail project is expected to begin construction later in the year. The block between Beaumont Road and Wacouta Avenue hosts the courthouse, jail and law enforcement facilities. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press).
The block that hosts the courthouse is set for significant changes as the county’s jail project gets underway. The new facility will extend down the west side of the block along Beaumont Road.
By Steve Van Kooten
Crawford County’s jail replacement project received several updates over the past week, including the re-zoning of the county’s property and a finance schedule change.
The county’s block, which currently houses the courthouse, sheriff’s department, police department and county jail, has started to change in preparation for the new jail’s construction.
Along the west side of the block, trees were cut down and removed to accommodate the expanded footprint of the jail. County Board Supervisor Gary Koch said trees on the east side of the property would not be cut down.
At the Prairie du Chien Common Council meeting on March 19, Crawford County requested the city rezone their block from R-1 to a planned community development (PCD). An R-1 code is associated with low-density residential areas, such as single-family home plots or complexes with a low number of units.
Koch postulated the property has been zoned as residential for a “long time” because of the surrounding blocks, which are mostly occupied by single-family homes.
According to Cassie Rickleff, the city of Prairie du Chien’s zoning administrator, the change would make the approval of the jail plans a “one meeting issue” for the city, avoiding the issuance of multiple variances for setbacks, coverage and other issues that may arise during the jail’s construction.
“We decided it would be easier to go to a PCD and approve their plans as presented, rather than leave it as an R-1 residential,” said Rickleff. “Public use is allowed in R-1, so we could technically leave it, but this will just streamline it a bit.”
Koch said when the law enforcement center was built, a PCD was not an available option, so the county obtained variances. But the change in zoning code would be the county’s preferred option.
“I think because the county owns the entire block—it’s a government block, it’s not going to change... It just seems to be expedient to just rezone it to that [PCD] designation,” he said.
The Prairie du Chien Common Council approved the zoning change from R-1 to a planned community development for Crawford County’s block.
Koch also said the current jail facility, one of the oldest in Wisconsin, had to be replaced. Russell Wittrig, Crawford County’s jail administrator, previously said that the county has been advised to get a new jail facility for at least ten years.
Koch stated the planned 42-bed facility, which will have the ability to expand to 76 beds, is designed to “take care of the needs of the county” in the present and future, and there are not plans to “bring in people from outside the county.”
Alderpersons Kayla Ingham, Kelssi Ziegler, Vicki Waller, Jaaren Riebe, Pam Kiesau and Nick Crary were present for the meeting, along with Mayor David Hemmer, Abram, Rickleff and Koch. Alderman Nate Bremmer was absent. Scott Fettig, Eric Daniels and John Grothman from Klein McCarthy Architects were also in attendance.
Finance Committee
The next day, Koch told the county finance committee the timeline for the county to approve the jail’s initial funding had changed.
“We had to move that schedule we had out there before because of a later date for the guaranteed maximum price
(GMP). You have to have that in order to do the first resolution as a not-to-exceed amount,” said Koch.
The initial resolution, slated for the April board of supervisors meeting, would give the board authority to borrow money at a later date. After the resolution is passed by the Board of Supervisors, a bond sale will be held to acquire funds for the project in August.
Koch said the first bond amount would be $10 million. Bonds are expected to be issued in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The county created a new timeline for the jail’s financing, which added a special Board of Supervisors meeting in July for the initial resolution’s adoption.
“When we get to the end, we’re still selling the bonds at the same time, but we’re constricting the schedule,” he said. “It gets us to where we want to be. It’s just more condensed than it was before.”
Greg Callin, vice president of client services for Kraemer Brothers, said he expected the GMP to be presented to the finance committee on June 12, and then to the board of supervisors on June 18.
“We’re finishing up our schematic budget and will present it to the finance committee on April 3,” Callin said. Kraemer asked outside sub-contractors to provide budget input at no cost.
Callin said the input process gives sub-contractors an early look at a project before trade bidding begins, and their information informs a more accurate schematic budget and more predictable GMP.
According to Callin, a “flexible timeline” for sub-contractors to submit their input caused a short delay in the schematic budget’s submission to the county.
He added competitive bidding practices with contractors and subcontractors historically resulted in price savings for the project.
