VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Barnes County Commission didn’t like what they heard from the firm hired to build a new jail and sheriff’s office.

The estimated cost to build a new jail jumped from $11.9 million to $14,626,396. The separate cost to build a sheriff’s office is estimated at $4,101,616. The figures listed in this story are from Klein McCarthy Architects. The firm released the new cost estimates before the county commission at their regular meeting on March 17th.

Barnes County Commissioner John Froehlich supports building a new jail but he said the latest cost estimate from $16.1 million to $18,351,616 is alarming.

Barnes County Commissioner Vicki Lovell talked about dropping the proposed new sheriff’s office from the plan to save money on the total project cost.

The commission took no action following the presentation. Commission president Bill Carlblom said the commission will have to vote up or down on the project at a future meeting in the near future.

Under the proposed plan, a new jail and law enforcement center would be built east of the existing National Guard facility along the I-94 frontage road in Valley City.

In 2019, the Department of Corrections said the 112 year old jail is unsafe for staff and inmates and no longer meets the state required standards.