The Allen County Commissioners approved the use of $25 million in cash on hand for Weigand Construction to begin foundational work on the new Allen County Jail.
Weigand said using what was left of the cash on hand already appropriated by the Allen County Council was faster than waiting on bond approval.
Commissioners Chief of Staff Chris Cloud said it’s the “legal kickoff” of construction of the new jail.
The decision came after the funding plan for the jail was challenged in court for months.
The commissioners had to wait for the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) to give its approval of the funding plan to use the historic Allen County Courthouse as collateral for a construction bond. After the DLGF gave its approval, the community activist group Allen County Residents Against the Jail sued to stop the county from carrying out the plan. The commissioners then had to wait for the Indiana Tax Court to rule on that case. It upheld the DLGF approval earlier this month. Those legal proceedings delayed groundbreaking on the new jail for months, but Cloud said project managers were still working during that time.
“Behind the scenes, our construction team at Weigand, our financing team at Baker Tilly, our bond counsel with Barnes and Thornburg, they were all still working to figure out timelines, next steps and pretty much do all the work they could do until we had a definitive answer from Tax Court and a definitive timeline,” Cloud said.
During the legal proceedings, officials completed the first four phases of the bidding process and have one more left to go in December.
Cloud said the new, adjusted timeline calls for dirt moving work to begin the week of Oct. 14, the fifth and final bidding process in December and final completion of the jail in November 2027.
Cloud said the project would have cost up to $318 million with additional fees and equipment, but it is now $18 million below budget after what he called “generous bids.”
The new jail is the Allen County Commissioners’ long-term solution to a federal court order to address unconstitutional conditions at the current Allen County Jail in downtown Fort Wayne, such as overcrowding and aging infrastructure.
Cloud said the new timeline can adjust for any possible appeal from the Allen County Residents Against the Jail. The activist group announced last Friday they would not appeal the Indiana Tax Court ruling, but they have until Oct. 13 to file notice of an appeal.
