VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The state wants Barnes County to have a plan in place at the end of this year concerning the 110 year old jail.

In a letter to the commission the state said due to the age of the facility and layout of the building for security issues the county would be given one year to decide whether to repair, renovate or build a new jail.

State of North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation addressed the Barnes County Commission during their regular meeting on February 20th.

Commissioner John Froehlich told the State Director of Facility Operations Don Redmann that he didn’t like the idea of closing the county jail at the end of the year.

Redmann said the community should get together to see what the best options are for the county. He said the layout of the aging jail presents security and liability issues for the county if something bad happens to a staff member or an inmate in the future.

Earlier this month, Barnes County Commissioners said a number of questions need to be answered including architectural cost estimates of building a 20 bed versus a 30 bed facility. One estimate puts the cost of building a 20 bed facility at $5 million dollar and a 30 bed at nearly $7 million dollars according to Commissioner John Froehlich.

The following is more audio from the Barnes County Commission meeting concerning the jail update. The first speaker is Don Redmann followed by commissioner Rodger Berntson and John Froehlich during the regular meeting on February 20th in Valley City.