By Caitlin Yamada
Sioux City Journal, Iowa
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan praised his staff on Tuesday for the successful move to the new facility last weekend.
“Our staff are dedicated professionals committed to public safety and the citizens of Woodbury County should be extremely proud of their efforts, I know I am,” Sheehan told the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
On Saturday, The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office announced it had completed the move from the old jail at 407 Seventh Street to the new one at 3701 28th Street.
Sheehan said the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office has been preparing for the move for over a year, with the entire staff working overtime, taking on additional responsibilities and adjusting their work hours.
“All of this has been done without complaint,” Sheehan said.
On Friday at 8 p.m. the downtown jail was closed. At 9:30 p.m. a briefing took place at the new facility.
“The operation of moving over 200 inmates from one facility to another is a high-risk and massive undertaking,” Sheehan said.
The process was done by 70 correctional officers, 40 deputies and reserve deputies, five nurses, one mental health therapist, two Iowa Department of Corrections prison guards, the Woodbury County Emergency Management office, Sioux City Fire Rescue, Sioux City Police Department, WCICC and Woodbury County building services.
In the video below, Lexipol co-founder Gordon Graham discusses safety considerations during inmate transport.
The Iowa State Patrol and the Sergeant Bluff Police Department also assisted in covering police calls during the transfer time. Sheehan said, if the department is lucky, the operation would be the largest law enforcement operation they would be a part of.
“The first inmates were moved out of the old jail starting at approximately 11:15 p.m. and were transferred to the new jail,” Sheehan said. “Over the next seven hours, a total of 210 inmates were moved to the new jail without incident.”
Sheehan said many of the inmates are considered maximum-risk inmates and the only incident was one inmate spitting on another.
“It was an amazing night,” Sheehan said.
The last inmate was walked into the new jail on Saturday at 6:15 a.m. with the jail fully operational at 8 a.m. and the first new booking at 9:50 a.m.
Sheehan said an emergency operations center at Western Iowa Tech was able to keep an eye on the process, the Department of Transportation shut down some cameras for safety and security, the Iowa Department of Corrections loaned the county a bus and more.
“Everybody just had their eye on the prize and everybody was working towards that goal,” he said.
Sheehan thanked his entire staff and their families for their support throughout the process. He specifically recognized:
- Chief Deputy Tony Wingert for being involved in the jail project since 2018 being the sheriff’s liaison on the project;
- Sergeant Jorma Schwedler for being in charge of planning and preparation of inmates in each facility and the training of correctional staff;
- Lieutenant Don Armstrong for planning the route the sheriff’s office took Friday night;
- Jail administrator Captain Todd Harlow in assisting Wingert in overseeing the project;
- Lieutenants Randy Uhl and Lee Blanchard for spearheading preparations at the new jail, working 60 to 80-hour work weeks and;
- Lieutenant Mary Feiler oversaw the old jail to ensure operations continued.
“Thank you to the citizens of Woodbury County who made this project possible,” Sheehan said. “Without you, the taxpayer, none of this ever happens.”
The 122,000-square-foot LEC, located on the city’s northeast side, can hold up to 448 inmates which nearly double the roughly 234 inmate-capacity of the former jail across the street from the county courthouse.
The approximately $70 million project was declared substantially complete on Friday, Aug. 16 and the sheriff’s administration moved in the week of September 8 .
Supervisor Mark Nelson asked Sheehan if any of his staff miss the old jail.
“No,” Sheehan said. “The sergeants were saying they could already tell the morale was different.”
Jail doors swing open at new Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center
Woodbury County officials held an official grand opening of the long-delayed facility on Wednesday, welcoming the public into the facility’s doors for tours and celebrations. For years, county officials faced various deficiencies, compliance issues, operations costs and lack of space in the current jail, built in 1987.
Move-in can begin at new Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center
The Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center is officially ready to be occupied. Jail project leaders received the last report they were waiting for last week. Once the document was reviewed, Goldberg Group Architects was able to issue a certificate of substantial completion, which Authority Chair Ron Wieck signed on Tuesday.
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