Jail to be Built on Pershing Road Site

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Muskingum County Commissioners met with various county officials Monday to discuss future plans for a new jail facility that will be located on Pershing Road in the city of Zanesville. 

Muskingum County Commissioner Cindy Cameron explained how Monday morning’s discussion followed a Friday afternoon court ruling that justified the jail’s construction over objections from the City of Zanesville’s Board of Zoning Appeals.  

“On Friday, we received from the visiting Judge Wallace from Hocking County. He filed his opinion of the BZA ruling and it was declared that, it was ruled that it was not correct. He overturned that ruling. We do not have to go back before the BZA Board and the city was ordered to comply and to provide any permits that are necessary to proceed with the jail,” Cameron said.

The ruling was decided by a visiting judge after two local judges recused themselves from presiding over the hearing.

The scope of the project along with budgeting and financing were the key topics discussed in Monday’s meeting.

“We had a meeting scheduled today at 8 a.m. and it included the contractor and the architect DLZ, the sheriff, the commissioners were there. We also had later, the auditor’s office and the treasurer were there. Just to discuss where we are with the design of the jail and the cost,” Cameron said.

The current jail is located next to the courthouse and has become obsolete. Eventually, that structure will be repurposed to accommodate other county objectives. The new jail will offer more capacity, more efficiency and improved safety for the guards as well as the inmates. The new jail is expect to cost $75 million.