Muskingum County Receives Grant for County Jail

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections recently granted Muskingum County $7 Million Dollars to help fund the construction of their future county jail. 

Muskingum County Commissioner Melissa Bell talked about the grant application process and how the grant will help to fund the much needed $78.6 Million dollar project. 

“We are very excited that we learned on Friday that we had received a $7 Million dollar grant through DRC for jail construction,” Bell said. “This is our third time applying for the jail grant and we were finally awarded during this grant cycle the $7 Million dollars. So we’re very excited.”

The current jail, which has been in use since 1977, was converted into a jail from an office building adjacent to the courthouse and has become obsolete. The new 357-bed facility that is being built along Pershing Road will allow for a larger population and improved safety standards. 

“The facility is… it will be a little over 102,000 square feet,” Bell said. “You know, we’re really starting to get into the construction phase. One of the things that we’re really excited about is that more than 53 percent of all the work that will be done at the jail will be done by Muskingum County businesses. So that was important to us. We wanted to make sure that we were utilizing local businesses in this jail construction.”

The county had to jump through several hoops to prove they were qualified to get the grant, including displaying the limitations of the existing jail, the workability of changing location as well as the enhancements that will be incorporated into the new facility, which is slated to open in the fall of 2027.