AUBURN â DeKalb County leaders voiced differing opinions on when to build a new jail Monday, while Sheriff David Cserep II warned about the threat of a lawsuit.
At this monthâs meeting of the DeKalb County Council in the courthouse, Commissioner Mike Watson said he hopes his two fellow commissioners would consider moving quickly.
âIâm certainly not in favor of pushing this thing down the road. I donât think thereâs much can left to kick on this thing,â Watson said.
Commissioner Todd Sanderson called for waiting to see if construction prices decline.
âYou have to plan to the upside so high, right now, I think itâs time to put the brakes on this just a little to wait and see things subside and say itâs definitely going to cost this,â Sanderson said.
AUBURN â A series of land transactions that will lead to a new home for the DeKalb County Highway Department â and help pay for it â occupied the DeKalb County Council Monday.
The County Commissioners are preparing to buy 15 acres on the east side of Waterloo as the highway departmentâs new home. They will pay the appraised value of $1,073,000 to owner Brett Henderson and an investment partner, Rich Allen.
Commissioners are selling the existing highway department site in south Auburn to the City of Auburn for the appraised value of $305,000. They also are selling two unused tracts of land â one northwest of Auburn and the other southwest of Butler â to help pay for the Waterloo property.
AUBURN â The DeKalb County Jailâs average population declined sharply in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheriff David Cserep II said this week.
Cserep delivered his annual State of the Jail report to the DeKalb County Council on Monday at the courthouse in Auburn.
âWe are not keeping anybody in jail that shouldnât be in jail right nowâ due to health concerns, Cserep told the council.
Cserep also described structural problems at the 35-year-old jail in downtown Auburn. Following the sheriffâs report, County Commissioners President William Hartman said he is aiming to start construction of a new jail in the spring of 2022.