BANGOR, Maine — Penobscot county is seeking a firm to build a 300-bed jail. The Bangor Daily News reports that it's holding a meeting in Bangor next Monday for potential contractors.
County officials estimate the new jail will cost between $65 million and $70 million.
Bids are due May 20 and the county could select a winning bidder in the following days.
The long overcrowded jail has capacity for 157 inmates, but has had an average daily population of about 190 inmates this past year.
Roughly 40 to 50 inmates are boarded in other counties and at least 70 are in a pre-trial release program.
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Penobscot county voters would either have to approve a bond issue to fund the facility, or commissioners could find another way to pay for it.