HENRY COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — The Henry County Jail is on the verge of a long-overdue makeover and officials now have three different options for renovations.

Henry County Commissioners saw their jail as, “sub-standard” and wanted to make a change, which originally entailed the possibility of building a new jail, but the price tag for a new jail was about $20 million.

Now the county wants to renovate the jail which could cost between $7 and $9 million. To help offset the cost of renovations will be about $3 million in COVID-19 funds which were designated to be used for the jail. The remainder of the cost will be covered by the county.

“We don’t do that now. Then we may be faced forced to build something that we don’t want with funds that we don’t have,” Henry County Commission Chairman, David Money said.

Part of the renovations includes adding areas in the jail that they noticed during the pandemic that really would have helped the jail operate more efficiently.

“We had nowhere to isolate COVID-19 victims, we have nowhere to isolate mental illness people. So what we are trying to do is make that addition,” Money said.

In addition, the county also wants to work on areas in the jail such as bathrooms, the kitchen, and plumbing in the facility, with the overall goal of making the jail a safer and more securer location.

Architects on Tuesday gave county officials three varying plans for the renovations and now they will discuss and possibly modify the plans until they reach an agreement

It will then go to the commission in June for approval if approved renovations could begin 60 days after the commission’s approval and the county believes the whole renovation process could take anywhere from 15 to 18 months

Chairman Money says that he hopes crews can start on this project later this summer or early in the fall.