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January 7, 2009

Jail project not all it’s cracked up to be

Sheriff’s department official says $12 million jail expansion project has cracks in kitchen wall

By Rich Flowers News Editor

As the renovation of the Henderson County Jail nears completion, County Commissioners are concerned over a couple of cracks that have cropped up in the new wing, which opened last June.

Henderson County Sheriff’s Department Major Kevin Hanes said a crack near the temporary book-in area appears troublesome.

“It’s the wall that divides the hallway from the kitchen area,” Hanes said. “I’m no expert on it, but to me it’s pretty severe. You can see the crack on both sides of the wall.”

Hanes said the second crack is in a corner behind the kitchen area near an exit to the building. Hanes said the cracks do not affect any of the cells.

“It’s a crack that runs down the wall,” Hanes said. “It’s pretty significant. I don’t think there should be cracks in the walls of a new building.”

Hanes said he believes fixing the flaws should be the responsibility of Templeton Construction, the firm hired by the county to oversee the project.

Pct. 1 Commissioner Joe Hall said small cracks are not uncommon in a construction project, but due to the size of the fissures in the new jail, he wants to be sure there are no flaws in the foundation.

“If there are foundation flaws, we’ve got a major problem,” Hall said.

Hanes said the county could benefit from hiring an independent party to inspect the work on the project.

“If we have their people look at it (Templeton) it’s going to be minute. If we have our people look at it they’ll say we’re overblowing it,” Hanes said. “If we have some other people come in and inspect the building and say, ‘You have one heck-of-a foundation problem,’ that would be the way to go.”

Pct. 2 Commissioner Wade McKinney said the cracks were discovered before Christmas. The county took pictures of the fissures to document the problem.

“It appears to be a settling fracture,” McKinney said.

Officials from the Sheriff’s Department, Commissioner’s Court and Templeton Construction meet each month to discuss the project. The next meeting is expected to be around January 14.

Templeton Project Manager Fred Watkins could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

In other action, commissioners:

• approved a request from the Tax Assessor/Collector to refund overpaid taxes;

• appointed Bill Hunter, Bill Key and Kenneth McGee to the Henderson County Hospital Authority Board;

• approved the closing documents for the sale of the old Memorial Hospital and authorized County Judge David Holstein to sign the contracts;

• revised the use of $17,337 in funds received from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Grant to include the purchase of a Chevrolet Impala to transport prisoners; and

• authorized the payment of bills in the amount of $157,960.37.

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