Pruett addresses commissioners on jail

He told commissioners that at the present time, the state did not have any inmate block masons available to build the jail. He went on to say that the DOC commissioner told him that he did not know when or if any inmate block masons would be available.
According to the DOC commissioner, this leaves Dodge County with two options. The first is to go ahead and start building the jail with inmate labor until they get to the point where block needs to be laid. Then, the construction would halt until inmate masons became available, which at the soonest would probably be October of 2010 or later.
The second option was for the commissioners to go ahead with construction using private contractors and inmate labor would be brought in at the end to help with painting, fencing, landscaping and other finishing jobs.
The commissioners have decided to put the jail construction out for bids to private contractors to see what the project would cost. After the bids are opened, the commissioners will decide what avenue they should take.
The commissioners are hoping that bids on the construction will come in well under the $7.5 million that the architect estimated it would cost. They are hoping the figure will be closer to $5.5 million.