County to apply for a jail improvement grant

Nodaway County Commissioners, with guidance from the sheriff department, will be applying for a state grant to make major safety upgrades and repairs to the Nodaway County Jail.

Sheriff Randy Strong, Major Scott Wedlock met with the commissioners, Collector Treasurer Marilyn Jenkins and Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments Intern Sarah Prickett December 6 to begin making the list of needed repairs to the 33-year-old structure. The jail with 44 beds was built in the mid 1980s and much of the physical structure has not seen any upgrades.

The list of repairs and upgrades include the following categories.

• Fire sprinkler system.

• Jail system control.

• External and internal doors with new locks.

• Fire alarm system.

• Zoned control of HVAC.

• Laundry upgrade.

The grant, which is a 50 – 50 cash match for the county, has no limits on funding requests. The state of Missouri has allocated $10 million. The grant application along with photos will need to be submitted by December 31. Possible estimates for costs are being calculated for the grant application.