Baker County Sheriff's Office Starts Move To New Facility
Posted By: Ryan Duffy Created: 5/30/2009 10:11:33 PM Updated: 5/30/2009 10:30:02 PM



BAKER COUNTY, FL -- Orange crates are scattered everywhere as the Baker County Sheriff's Office staff uses them to box up everything from the offices and jail they've used for more than 20 years.

They spent Saturday moving it all to their $30 million new building.

"We are proud of the whole facility and the fact that it brings Baker County into the 21st century," says Sheriff Joey Dobson.

Dobson says there are still a few finishing touches to go, but the project has stayed on schedule in the 15 months it took to build.

Where the old jail held just 132 inmates, this one holds 512, hundreds of them will be held for the federal agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Jail Director John Finley will oversee all of them and he's ready for the move.

"Having more room, being able to get around without being on top of one another, having more staff and being able to take care of problems that might come up," says Finley.

And a much bigger new jail means new jobs. The Sheriff's Office will need more than a hundred new employees, most will be hired from Baker County.

Inmates will come in through a drive-in secure entry, go to one of two pods and once there never have to leave.

The rec rooms are connected and visitors meet through video monitors.

The kitchen can feed a thousand people and there are all new offices, which the staff just started to organize this weekend.

"It was a little bit of organized chaos I guess you would say this morning, but it worked fine and by the end of the week we'll have all of it done," says Dobson.

The official opening of the new Sheriff's Office complex will be on June 11th at 6. The public is invited to take tours.

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