Dallas County officials signed a $27 million contract Aug. 12 to start full reconstruction of the jail three and a half years after it was wrecked by a tornado.
The jail has been vacant since Jan. 12, 2023, when a tornado left both the jail and the juvenile detention center severely damaged. Since then, inmates have been housed in jails throughout Alabama.
The expense of housing the prisoners and transporting them to and from Dallas County for trial has cost the county tens of thousands of dollars, Dallas County Sheriff Mike Granthum said.
The jail could be finished in a year, though supply chain delays could push the project to 14 or 15 months. Construction could begin as early as September.
“It’s a big day for Dallas County,” Granthum said at the contract signing. “A lot of people don’t understand, including myself, why it took so long, but it was a battle.”
The signing of the construction contract by Dallas County Probate Judge and County Commission Chairman Jimmy Nunn and Contractor Darryl Steward on Aug. 11 marked the end of more than two years of negotiations with the insurance company.
The county ultimately recovered all $29 million in insurance, but after repairing the detention center and performing temporary repairs to keep the jail from deteriorating further, Dallas County was $7.2 million short of the $21 million needed to rebuild the jail.
To close the gap, Dallas County applied for a loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program. USDA approved a $7.2 million loan, plus an additional $2 million in required contingency funding, for a total of $9.2 million. The loan carries a 30-year term at 4.6% interest.
Kelly said a local bank will provide a construction line of credit to begin work, and USDA will repay the bank once the project is complete.
Granthum praised USDA for stepping in and said the project will bring economic benefits because Stewart Construction is a local company.
“Those are going to be our people,” Granthum said. “Money is going to be filtered back in.”
USDA Deputy State Director Joe Friedman said the agency moved as quickly as possible to help Dallas County. He praised the county for having its architectural plans, financial documents and legal work ready when USDA began reviewing the application.
USDA officials Alan Bowen and Doug Short were also recognized for assembling the loan package.
The sheriff, who is retiring in January, said he plans to attend the ribbon cutting when the jail is complete.
“There’s not going to be a week that goes by when I retire that I don’t drive out to the jail,” Granthum said. “To see it come from the ashes to actually power, lights, everything back on, it’s going to be amazing.”
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