Sullivan commissioners again quiz design, construction officials on new jail

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County commissioners have again decried delays in completing the new county jail. It was scheduled to finish in December of 2025, but may not be done for another six to eights weeks. The County Commission asked pointed questions about the county being owed money for the delays to officials of J.A. Street & Associates, the builder of the project, and Louis Corina, CFO of Knoxville-based architectural firm MDI Co. that designed the jail project. This came during an informational section of Thursday's commission meeting, and after a Feb. 19 Q&A session at that month's meeting. Marcus Wilcox, jail project manager for Street & Associates, said the issue now is mainly the smoke evacuation ability of the new building. This follows the determination that fan motors originally installed did not do an adequate job of removing smoke from the jail in the event of a fire. He said one motor will be replaced first and tested starting next week to be sure the fix will work before all motors are changed. Then, the new jail will meet mandated Tennessee fire and safety codes. Also, he said security cameras and other technology will have to undergo testing. Wilcox said the originally installed motors were judged by Trane, the vendor specified in the contract, to be up to the job. However, he said, they weren't sufficient for the jail's conditions. Commissioner Larry Crawford of Kingsport asked what will ensure the new motors will work correctly, and Wilcox said design team is confident the new motors will resolve the problems. Wilcox said the jail should be ready in as little as six weeks. He said the addition of a third elevator that goes to all four levels has slowed completion of the project. After the fans are deemed to be working correctly, Wilcox said the slow process of "balancing" the heating and cooling system will begin. "That's got to be a design flaw," Commissioner Travis Ward of Kingsport — who works for the Sheriff's Office — said of the jail, where costs have escalated to well more than $1 million. Commissioner Herschel Glove of Bluff City was more direct. "I don't know where to start," Glover said, repeatedly asking who would bear the extra cost of delays, including having to heat and cool the old and new jail areas and costs of flushing water lines if water sits too long in them. Wilcox said the county has no additional cost from the architect or construction team until contingencies ran out. Glover said the contingencies were about $300,000 in additional funds. He kept asking who would pay for what he called design flow-caused delays. "You don't live in Sullivan County, but I do. I have to face these people (constituents) on a daily basis," Glover said. Corina said designers have spent "endless hours to try to get this to work" and that contingency funding went to addressing unsuitable soils on the building site. "These (design) flaws were not expected," Glover said. "You've yet to take any responsibility for it," Glover said. "I wouldn't have you all design a chicken coup for me." Commission Chair John Gardner of Kingsport called for Glover to be respectful of those answering commissioners' questions. Responding to a question from Commissioner Mark Ireson of Colonial Heights, Wilcox said: "We feel very comfortable with eight weeks." Quizzed further by Commissioner Joe Carr of Kingsport, Wilcox again said eight weeks was a good estimate. "With all due respect, they (county citizens) think you're taking them for a ride," Carr said. Commissioners said the delays are because of design, not construction, issues. Jim Street, CEO and president of the contracted company, said his construction team and the designers are working together daily on problems, and that the fan work next week should be the beginning of the end of getting the jail finally open.