It has been one year since officials broke ground on the new Saline County Jail and Sheriff’s Office facility in North Salina.

The official ground-breaking was celebrated October 27th, 2022. With construction slated for substantial completion in 11 more months, construction is at the halfway point.

According to Saline County, to mark this occasion, the Tuesday, November 1st, county commission meeting will consist of a study session held onsite at the construction trailer just west of the job site (parking lot entrance off of Front Street between Woodland and Pacific Avenues).

The meeting, which will begin at 9:00 am, is a public meeting like all meetings of the Commission and members of the public will be able to join Commissioners along with construction team members for a review of progress. Following the meeting, individual tours of the site will be offered to Commissioners but these will not be accessible to the public (nor will a quorum of Commissioners be present) due to safety concerns on the work site.

The new jail project was approved by voters. A one-half percent sales tax to help pay for the new building was enacted on April 1st, 2021.

The sales tax that pays for the jail bonds also continues to come in significantly higher than projected, with September 2022 receipts being the largest collection since the sales tax began.