J.E. Dunn selected as construction manager for Vernon County jail

Nevada, Mo. -- The Vernon County Commission chose a national construction company with offices in Kansas City to manage the construction of the new county jail in Nevada. J. E. Dunn Construction will manage the project and oversee the contractors and sub-contractors doing the work on the jail, which will be located on ground donated by Billie Curtis north of Sutherland's Lumber.

The commissioners have previously met with two other construction companies, Nabholz Construction Corporation, Conway, Ark. and Universal Construction, Lenexa.

The project will be paid for by a half-cent sales tax voters approved in April. The tax is scheduled to be cut in half in 20 years or when the new jail is paid for, whichever is earlier.

The Vernon County Commission and Sheriff Ron Peckman, along with Larry Goldberg of Goldberg, Sullivan and McCrery, the architect for the job, met with representatives from J. E. Dunn Construction and Paric Corporation Wednesday in the commission's meeting room to listen to the presentations of the two companies.

Both presentations made similar claims and Goldberg asked similar questions of both groups after they made their presentations.

For example, Goldberg told both groups that finding a shelf of rock under the site had delayed the start of the project while it was determined how extensive the rock was.

He asked the groups if they could work on an expedited schedule to help reclaim some of the lost time. Both groups said they could fast-track the project to get it under way by the originally scheduled date. The new jail should be ready for occupancy next autumn, if the project proceeds as scheduled.

The commissioners chose J.E. Dunn after the meeting. J.E. Dunn Construction will analyze the project's financing during the next few weeks while working drawings of the jail can be prepared.

While all the companies have a large portfolio of successfully completed projects, Dunn Construction has extensive experience with correctional facilities including the Bates County law enforcement center in Butler. John Brake, vice-president of J. E. Dunn, told the commissioners his company had worked on projects valued at $1.3 billion representing 21,219 inmate beds.