Georgia Jail Creates Nation’s First Veterans Dorm

MUSCOGEE COUNTY, Ga. — Veterans returning home to Georgia may soon join other military members in a new dormitory reserved especially for them — in a jail.

In an attempt to break the cycle of recidivism, Sheriff John Darr created the new facility to give veteran-inmates services to help them deal with the issues often linked with decamping.

Since the veterans are grouped in the same area, they can bond with each other and receive medical treatment from a centralized location, staff said.

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Georgia Considers Policy Change For Non-Violent Offenders

ATLANTA — Georgia could soon be following in the footsteps of other states in regards to prison realignment plans. The shift from “tough on crime” to “smart on crime” is becoming widely popular in states to save money and possibly reduce recidivism.

Georgia is currently investigating a plan that would result in sending fewer people to jail for property and drug crimes and boost alternative punishments.

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SteelCell Hosts Detention Facility Seminar

BALDWIN, Ga. — The Criminal Justice and Detention Facility Seminar at SteelCell of North America in Baldwin, Ga,. drew in guests from around the country to discuss key elements to contribute to the development of detention facilities.

A total of 55 attendees were present at the event. The guests included architects, construction firms and several county officials.

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Ga. Courthouse Wins LEED Gold

SPRINGFIELD. Ga. — Effingham County’s historical courthouse has been designated LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is the first building in the county and the first renovated courthouse in the state to achieve the designation.
 
The 1908 courthouse was rededicated last November after a $3.5 million restoration project by the design team of J.T. Turner Construction Co.

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Cobb Co. Approves Extra Courthouse Funds

MARIETTA, Ga. — Cobb County Commissioners recently approved additional funds for the installation of security equipment in the county’s new $63 billion Superior Court building.

Turner Construction built the facility, which opened to the public in January, for $57 million.

The extra $35,942 in security costs is being added onto a $1.7 million contract with Black Creek Integrated Systems Corp. that was approved in July 2009. Last month, commissioners approved $2,255 more for a $448,257 contract to install audio/video equipment in each courtroom.

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Partnership Awarded Chatham County Jail Project

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Oldcastle Precast Modular and a Hunt/Mills joint venture will be providing the precast concrete prison cells and building components for the new $71million, 330,000 square-foot expansion of the Chatham County Detention Center in Georgia.
 
Chatham County commissioners awarded the contract for the expansion of the detention center to general contractor Hunt/Mills, a joint venture of Hunt Construction Group and WG Mills.

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Georgia DOC Looks to Lockdown Energy Usage

ATLANTA — Work has begun on a new design-build retro-commissioning (RCx) project for the Georgia Department of Corrections across the state. The $5.8 million project, under contract with the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, is the second largest of 135 energy-efficiency projects being coordinated by GEFA as a result of the $63.1 million the state received through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

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Hunt-Mills Submits Low Bid for Savannah Jail

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Chatham County officials identified Hunt-Mills as the low-bidder for the proposed expansion of the approximately 1,500-bed county jail as all bids submitted came in tens of millions of dollars less than budgeted for the project.
 
Hunt Construction, headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., partnered with WG Mills, based in Sarasota, Fla., in tendering a base-bid of almost $61.5 million for the construction of the 850-beds jail addition, officials say.

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Small County, Big Cost-Benefits

The Georgia Sheriffs’ Association named the Banks County Jail one of the easiest jails to run per dollar in the state. The 60-bed facility represents a new wave of cost-efficient jails in Georgia’s smallest counties.

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Breaking New Ground

The 114 acres in Jonesboro, Georgia on which the Harold R. Banke Justice Center stands is familiar stomping ground for project manager Joe Lee. And not just because he spent slightly more than two years managing construction of this $119 million, 726,855-square-foot justice complex-one of the largest in the country. It’s familiar because he remembers taking flying lessons at the old airport that once occupied this site.

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