By Andy Dahn
BLOOMINGTON – The McLean County Board voted Thursday to authorize a public bond sale by the Public Building Commission. Those bonds will be used for future projects including the possible remodeling and expansion of the McLean County Jail that would include a new mental health facility.
Board chairman Matt Sorenson said while the meeting was a step in the right direction, changes to the jail aren’t guaranteed just yet.
“What we did today was we assured ourselves that should the county board decide to move forward with a jail project, we have a funding mechanism to do that project.”
Sorenson said a good amount of work needs to be done before changes to the jail can be made.
“We’ve got five or six different options on the table that range in cost pretty dramatically,” Sorenson said. “They also range in terms of how much capacity we’re adding to the jail and what kind of services and capabilities the facility can support. Those all depend on what the dynamics of the project end up being.”
The vote, Sorenson said, begins to fill a desperate need in the community.
“We have to come up with a more suitable facility for dealing with folks who need mental health and behavioral health services within the structure of our local county jail,” said Sorenson. “We’re not meeting that need effectively today and we know we’re going to have to do much better in the future.”
Sorenson added that if the board does proceed with jail renovations, they will likely take at least two years to complete.
Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].
