Work on the courtroom at the new Starke County Jail east of Knox should start the first week of February and be done by the end of April. The county commissioners awarded bids for the project during their meeting last night.
Mishawaka-based Gibson-Lewis LLC was awarded the bid for general trades. Their base bid and three of the four alternates came in at $209,000. Gary-based Mechanical Concepts, Inc. submitted the lowest bid for mechanical work at $45,985, and EMCOR Hyre Electric of Highland bid $79,672 for the electrical work. The total price tag for the courtroom project is $334,657. That’s significantly less than the quotes received last spring from the contractors already on the job site.
The new courtroom will be used for video arraignments and other proceedings to lessen the need to transport prisoners between the new facility and the existing Starke Circuit Courtroom at the courthouse in downtown Knox once the new building opens this spring.
