More room will soon be available at the Polk County Jail after a renovation project started earlier this month, and the first of the cells where inmates will be held is being transformed from rusty mess to livable space.

Sheriff Johnny Moats said the renovation project of old portions of the jail that have been left vacant for years got underway around the beginning of the month, and that the first cell saw rust and paint ground off over the past four weeks.

Moats said progress is being made, but it is going to be an extended process to complete the work than originally planned.

“It’s taking longer to grind off all the old paint than they told us. Now instead of two weeks to complete one cell, it’s going to take 4 weeks,” Moats said.

(The above photos provided by Sheriffs Moats shows the before and after of a single cell in one of the pods being renovated at the jail.)

SteelCo Services got the contract from the Polk County Commission for a $1.3 million renovation project at the jail. The work began with a project to redo much of the kitchen space to bring it back up to health code standards.

Jail officials over the summer used Polk School District kitchens to make food to ensure inmates at the facility remained well fed. The work on the kitchen was finished in August.

Now that the project has moved onto the cells themselves, it should allow for a greater capacity at the facility once the whole of the project is finished in 2025.

The county also created a jail maintenance staff position to ensure that upkeep at the facility is a focus in the future so the renovation investment will last.