The Sherburne County Jail will be undergoing a major upgrade this year at a cost of over $3.4 million.

Last week, the board of commissioners approved a list of contracts to companies that will be working to replace the jail piping system.

The county solicited bids late last year, and Adolfson & Peterson Construction, who is serving as the project manager, opened and reviewed those bids Dec. 23 of last year..

Carey Everson, Senior Project Manager from Adolfson & Peterson was present to discuss the project scope and review the submitted bids.

Everson said piping in the jail is deteriorating and in need of replacement. An assessment back in 2018 showed issues with velocity, pipe erosion and sediment in the water

“The scope of the project is to replace the domestic piping lines internal to the building,” she said, “which requires us to remove ceiling material to access the pipes, replace the pipes, reinsulate the pipes and reinstall the ceiling material.”

There are different contractors for each part of the project, including demolition, drywall and framing, suspended ceilings, painting, fire protection, mechanical, electrical and communications.

Assistant Administrator Dan Weber said the project cost is about $3.5 million, which is much higher than the original estimate of $2 million.

“I don’t think it was understood the amount of labor that this project  would take, and that was the difference,” he said.

He said the county had set aside money for the project based on the $2 million estimate, so they had to come up with an additional source of funding.

“We met with the solid waste department to see if there were any non-restricted funds available to help with the project. There is enough to cover it - a maximum of $1.5 million,” he said. “The plan would be to repay that over time, whether it be through a capital project bond or using some unspent money to help replenish that fund.”

Administrator Bruce Messelt said Sheriff Joel Brott has begun planning on how to operate during the project.

“We will be going through a secure facility in phases. Obviously, that means temporary security, it means contractors going into sensitive areas, it means maintaining operations while renovating,” he said. “That may or not mean temporary housing of some Sherburne County detainees in other facilities.”

Everson said they intend to have a pre-construction meeting with all the successful bidders to dial in the duration

“Right now, we’re looking at between nine and 11 months,” she said. “But we won’t begin construction until the materials are on site.”

The target starting date is March 16.

Pay Equity

The board approved the submission of the 2026 Pay Equity Report to Minnesota Management & Budget, as required by the Local Government Pay Equity Act. The  report determines if female-dominated classifications are paid same or similarly to male-dominated classifications of comparable work value (job points). The results of the county’s pay equity report indicate Sherburne County is in compliance with the Pay Equity Act.

Trail Grant Agreement

The board approved a grant agreement with the MN DNR for Legacy funding to construct a partnership project along the Great Northern Regional Trail with the Cities of Elk River and Zimmerman. The Project includes construction of a Trailhead in Zimmerman and trail-side amenities along the City of Elk River segment and the Sherburne County segment.   

The total grant award is $683,240. The project match is $175,560, of which $41,680 will be provided by the county and is in the Parks Budget and Capital Improvement Plan. Of the remaining matching amount, $17,440 will be provided by  Elk River and $116,440 will be provided by Zimmerman.