OTTAWA — Construction has started on the county’s new juvenile detention facility.
The county bought the old Neosho County Community College building at Second and Beech. The county commission had a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday afternoon.
Commission chair Ed Taylor said the construction caps several years of preparation. The county had originally looked at rebuilding or expanding the jail but the expense was too much, he said. The county then figured that building a new juvenile detention center would solve problems for juvenile detention while freeing up space at the jail, he said. Timing was everything – a series of things happened, including Neosho’s move to a new campus proved favorable to the county, he said. The new facility is being built next to the old college building. Eventually, most law enforcement offices could be moved into the old college building. Because of favorable bond rates for the project, the county should be able to finance the project entirely from rent revenue from the county annex building, he said.
Wednesday, May 11, 7:30 a.m.
