"The two inches (compared to four-inch concrete, pre-cast cell walls) shrinks the square footage of the building," he told the Clipper. "It's unbelievable how much it shrinks it, if you take all the walls, and take half a foot, it ends up to be quite a large amount of square feet.
"It also reduces the cost of structural support that's needed," McLeod said. "It may be substantial savings." However, the system being looked at in Tacoma is "not totally pre-fabricated like concrete pre-cast, it's more of a stick-built system. The wall panels are pre-fabricated, but have to be set in place and welded."
McLeod said the Washington facility has been in operation from three to five years.
"We will see how it looks, how it's holding up, then we'll pursue the cost savings, see if there's an actual cost savings, if it looks like a good product," he said.
With voter approval giving county officials the go-ahead to obtain a $24.8 million jail bond, officials are looking to a February bid award.
The expansion could be complete by late 2006 or early 2007. It will double the size of the current jail in west Farmington.
Those traveling to Tacoma include McLeod, Capt. Bob Yeaman, who oversees jail operations, and Mitch Matern, who supervises jail maintenance. "He'll be my right-hand man on this jail expansion," said McLeod of Matern. "He was the foreman for the electrical contractor on the existing building."
In addition, two officials with Edwards & Daniels Architects, Inc., of Salt Lake City will also be in the group.
That firm is in the process of planning the new facility.
"If it looks like it's a useable product, then we want to look at the potential cost savings, see if we can even pursue it," McLeod said.
tbusselberg@davisclipper.com
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