WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Just over two years after crews broke ground on the new Wood County Sheriff’s Office and jail, the locks are on the cell doors, the elevators are operational, furniture is being installed and computer wires are being connected as the end of the construction approaching.
The transition team has begun training in the new building, said Wood County Jail Administrator Lt. Ted Ashbeck.
Ashbeck and Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker expect to begin moving into the new building sometime in February after staff are fully trained in the procedures at the new facility.
Once the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and Jail have completely moved out of the old building, work on demolition of the old jail could begin sometime in 2025. Becker said he didn’t know exactly when that would happen.
People who would like to take a look at the new facility for themselves are invited to attend an open house on Dec. 17, immediately following the Wood County Board meeting, which begins at 9:30 a.m., Becker said.
The construction of the prison is within budget and ahead of schedule
Laura Valenstein, chair of the Wood County Jail Construction Adhoc Committee, said construction has gone extremely well. Construction is on budget and ahead of schedule, she said. Samuels Group of Wausau, the construction company building the prison, was easy to work with, Valenstein said.
“They did a great job,” she said. “They were extremely receptive to feedback and some of the things we wanted to change along the way.”
Becker, Ashbeck, facilities manager Reuben Van Tassel and the sheriff’s office staff have done a good job keeping up with the jail project, Valenstein said. It was Valenstein’s first time chairing such a large project and they made it easy, she said.
“I get to watch from the outside while the team deals with the nitty-gritty,” Valenstein said.
Becker said he enjoyed working with Valenstein and Van Tassel on the project, which broke ground in October 2022. The Samuels Group has been good at making the necessary changes now that they have been brought to their attention and keeping the project within its $98 million budget.
Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker leads a tour of the new Wood County Jail on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, as it nears completion in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
New facility increases safety and opportunities
The new prison will have many new features that improve safety for both inmates and staff, as well as increased opportunities for inmate training and programming.
The new prison has videoconferencing rooms throughout the facility. Currently, corrections officers take inmates to the only meeting room in the prison. The prisoners wait outside the room for their turn to appear in court. It’s a system that doesn’t work well, Becker said. The multiple videoconferencing rooms will limit how far inmates have to be moved for their court hearings. There is also one conference room where the suspect’s attorney can be in jail with the inmate, instead of in the courtroom.
Some of the changes in the new prison that Becker likes most are those that allow for greater programming to help inmates. The current prison’s only small meeting room also serves as a library. Having multiple meeting rooms in the new jail will also allow for more meetings and training, Becker said.
The experience with COVID-19 made the prison’s designers and staff think about what elements the new prison needed to protect the health of inmates. There are cells intended for sick prisoners. The area includes an exam room where nurses can see inmates with medical problems. Staff will be able to separate sick inmates from the general prison population, Becker said.
The jail also has a padded cell for inmates experiencing mental health issues, Becker said. The cell is designed to prevent a violent inmate from harming himself.
Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker leads a tour of the new Wood County Jail on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, as it nears completion in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
The new prison kitchen is also designed to allow inmates to train in working in professional kitchens, Becker said. He hopes to partner with Mid-State Technical College to create a program that interested inmates can take to be trained for restaurant work.
“Mid-State has been a very good partner for many of our prison programs,” Becker said.
The new facilities also give Wood County Sheriff’s Office staff more evidence space, better work stations for writing reports and meetings, more locker room space and a new training room.
Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: New Wood County Jail will be ready soon
