Kewaunee County officials are hopeful its next round of discussions surrounding a new jail will be the last you hear about it for a long time. Earlier this month, Kewaunee County Board Chairperson Dan Olson notified the Jail Study Committee that Midwest Construction Consultants was no longer pursuing the project. According to the meeting’s minutes, the Iowa-based company was confident in how it contracted work in the past, and that Kewaunee County was asking them to contract was significantly different. It was decided at the meeting that they would soon put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) and a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) as they look for a new project partner. Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski says they have put in a lot of work on replacing the state’s smallest and oldest jail over the last eight years. It is just a matter of finding the right partner to do the work at a fair price.

Meanwhile, improvements are being made at the current county jail for the time being. The county board approved $81,437 to replace the failing security camera server for the Kewaunee County jail and courthouse. Joski also told the board that he is working with the state jail inspector to see if there are other improvements they need to make to comply with Wisconsin code and others they can push off as they explore a new facility. On Sunday, you can read Joski’s jail portion of his annual report at DoorCountyDailyNews.com.