Jail Project Manager Expects Bids To Be Competitive

This building will soon house the new Starke County Jail.
This building will soon house the new Starke County Jail.
Groundbreaking for the new Starke County Jail is still on track for November, and construction is expected to take 16 months. Project manager Scott Cherry with Merrillville-based Skillman says construction costs are around $10 million and expects the bids for the project to be extremely competitive.

“A project like this that is a nice project, it’s a large project where companies can come in and bid it and work for quite a long time, that’s always attractive. The bidding itself, the way we set it up, is going to bring in that competition inherently,” said Cherry.

Continue reading

Starke Commissioners Approve Scope of Work, Bid Documents for Jail Project

Scott Cherry
Scott Cherry
The Starke County Commissioners this week received an update on the probable costs and anticipated schedule of the jail project. An official with the Skillman Corporation presented the latest estimates on the project and explained that they are still sharpening up the costs, but they are coming in closer to their ideal price range.

Scott Cherry told the commissioners that the schematic estimate that had been presented a month prior came out to roughly $11 million, which was a bit high; he said the ideal range was within $10.2 million to $10.3 million. Now, however, after they tightened some of the expenses, they’ve brought the estimated cost down to roughly $10.3 million.

Continue reading

Starke Commissioners Receive Jail Update

Scott Cherry
Scott Cherry
The Starke County Commissioners at their meeting yesterday morning heard an update on the county jail project and approved the schematic design, giving the Skillman Corporation and DLZ authority to begin design development. Scott Carnegie, architect for DLZ, told the commissioners that DLZ has been working with the Skillman Corporation over the past several weeks, discussing the design approach and cost.

Continue reading

Starke County Commissioners Hear Update on Jail Committee

Scott Cherry explains Skillman's part in the Starke County Jail project

The Starke County Commissioners were brought up to date on the activities of the Starke County Jail Committee last week. Commissioner Kathy Norem, who heads up the committee, introduced Scott Cherry, Account Executive with the Skillman Corporation, a construction management firm with headquarters in Indianapolis and a regional office in Merrillville.

Continue reading

Starke County Commissioners to Hear from Skillman Corporation Representative about Jail Construction

A representative of Skillman Corporation out of Merrillville will be in attendance at the Starke County Commissioners meeting tonight. After listening to a presentation from Scott Cherry last week, the Starke County Jail Committee voted to invite him to the Commissioners’ meeting to discuss jail construction and remodeling. Cherry oversees all operations from the Merrillville office.

Continue reading