Groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate new Plumas County jail
By Debra Moore
Standing on the cleared site with a grader as a backdrop, those most involved with the construction of the new Plumas County correctional facility gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking the morning of Aug. 10.
“This has been an incredibly long, drawn-out process,” Sheriff Todd Johns said. “We can’t wait to walk into our new facility.”
The new jail will be adjacent to the old facility off of Abernethy Lane in East Quincy. It’s also bordered by the Little League fields and Public Works.
Plumas County received a state grant of $25 million back in 2017 to build a new jail; at the time Supervisor Greg Hagwood was Plumas County Sheriff. During a board of supervisors meeting in February, Hagwood said the $25 million would have probably “bought a lot more then than it will in 2022.”
And he is right — the facility has been scaled back — with department personnel reconfiguring cells and other spaces so that the square footage can be reduced to accommodate the budget.
There have been a lot of people involved over the past five years, as well as long before that. Many of them showed up to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony, during which Sheriff Johns praised their efforts.
That included Carter Goble Associates (CGL), the entity that the county hired in 2017 for architectural and construction management services; the firm will help manage the project. He also acknowledged representatives from Arrington Watkins Architects and builder Clark/Sullivan Broward.
Johns recognized the efforts of Hagwood, former Assistant Sheriff Dean Canalia, District Attorney David Hollister, Alternative Sentencing Coordinator Stephanie Tanaka, Public Works personnel including former Director Bob Perreault and current Director John Mannle, as well sheriff’s office and jail staff, including Steve Clark, Chad Hermann and April Gott.
Construction is anticipated to take 18 months once the foundation is poured. Sheriff Johns is hopeful that it will be ready for occupancy in two years, which would be summer of 2024.
