The Saline County Jail is a construction zone again as crews work to replace a portion of the roof damaged by hail last summer.

According to Saline County Administrator Phil Smith-Hanes, a June 2024 hailstorm pitted and dented a portion of the metal roof atop the jail that had officially began housing inmates only 6-months prior to the storm.

Smith-Hanes tells KSAL News the price tag for the repairs is listed at $371,725 and is completely covered by the county’s insurance policy. Only the metal sections of the roof is being replaced. Douglas Colony is the contractor on site and the work is slated to be wrapped up by August 8th.

According to Smith-Hanes, lag time in the process was due to communicating with the insurance group, logging quotes, getting a green light from the commission and then lining up a roofing company for the work.

The new jail project was approved by voters in November of 2020 and includes:

392 beds.

Dedicated medical areas for males and females and dedicated areas for those that need mental health care.

Expanded program space to add programs to help with rehabilitation and re-entry.

Space for dedicated program staff with the potential to add facility specific social worker or mental health professional.