PAPILLION- Officials broke ground Monday at the site of the new jail in Sarpy County. The jail plans to have ample room to house inmates and offer more services to help treat those inmates suffering with mental health. The building will open in late 2022 or early 2023 and will increase the number of beds for inmates and include a behavioral health unit that helps with drug and alcohol dependency rehabilitation.

“Not only will it be a state-of-the-art, modern facility, but it’s going to allow us to provide services and programs to people that we’ve never been able to provide before,” said Don Kelly, chairman of the County Board.

The county has been working on a plan to address overcrowding in their area. The jail in Sarpy, built in 1989 was only build to house 150 inmates but currently houses around 200. County officials partnered with UNMC to establish the state's first forensic psychiatry fellowship. Around 25% of inmates will benefit from services given by a psychiatrist that will assess and treat inmates with mental illnesses. The behavioral health unit will have 20 beds for men and eight for women and will be separate from the rest of the inmate population.

Bonds will cover about $45.1 million while the American Rescue Plan Act, coming from President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package will cover $18.1 million, and $16.7 million will come from the county's inheritance tax funds.

“We want the county to be very proud of this facility,” Chris Pesek said.

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