Jail pods saga continues
May 22—GREENSBURG — Monday, workers disassembled the "jail pods" (modular units) at the site of the previous Decatur County Jail at the intersection of S. Broadway and Railroad Street. They were then lifted onto semi-flatbeds for shipping to the Bahamas, where they will be used again.
Daily News readers may remember when the Decatur County Commissioners purchased the jail pods in 2018 from Eagle Modular Buildings in Illinois to provide relief for the overcrowded Decatur County Jail.
With a $1.8 million price tag, the pods were attached to the existing jail structure (now razed) to provided additional space for inmate housing and programming.
From start to finish, the project took approximately eight months and the cost of the pods was equal to roughly $37,500 per bed. Jail overcrowding had been a consistent issue at the Decatur County Jail and it was decided that the new area would ease the problem.
The modular facility was split into two 24-bed open dorm units, which were monitored by a single detention deputy. The deputy watched over the inmates from a secure control room and could signal for assistance from a response team if a situation arose.
Their use after the new Detention Center on S. Ireland opening was hotly debated. Whether to keep them for additional programming space at the new jail or sell them was a topic of discussion at multiple city and county meetings.
In October 2022, it was decided they would be sold back to the manufacturing company (Eagle Modular Buildings) in an effort to recoup some of the purchase price.
Once the contract was signed, the buyer had 45 days to remove the pods.
However, because a mowing company inadvertently cut the power lines to the units after they were retired, the pod's sprinkler units burst open in the intense cold temperatures Hoosiers endured in December 2022, causing damage to the system.
It was decided that it would be easier to repair them while they were still in place at the S. Broadway site, with shipment occurring after the damage was repaired.
When Decatur County Commissioner Mark Koors was asked about the selling price of the modules on Monday morning he said, "We had to sign a confidentiality clause until they (the modular units) are moved to their new site. [We've] gotta wait about 4 weeks yet, [they're ] gonna be on a slow boat to the Bahamas."
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email bill.rethlake@greensburgdailynews.com
