Officials: New Jones County Public Safety Facility will aid in emergency responses

Officials touted the future Jones County Safety Facility as a revolutionary space that will enhance emergency response in the county for decades to come. 

Their comments were shared Sept. 16 at a groundbreaking celebration at the site of the future 10,500 square-foot building on Davidson Boulevard on the north side of Anamosa. 

As elected officials, emergency management staff and sheriff law enforcement gathered under the midday sunshine and on top of the dirt lot that will eventually become one of the largest Jones County capital investments in the last decade, Sheriff Greg Graver explained why he’s so excited about what the Safety Facility will bring to the county.

“I want to thank the Jones County Board of Supervisors,” Graver said. “Your decision is the most consequential action to support first responders in the very history of this county.”

A contract with Garling Construction in July approved unanimously by the supervisors -- but the scope of the project was subject to much debate among the board members. In the end, a 3-2 vote -- with Supervisors John Schlarmann and Darrick Hall dissenting -- paved the way for the construction of a $2.1 million facility that will provide storage for all the county’s emergency response equipment, training space for first responders and secure storage for election equipment. 

The build site is scalped of grass and construction on the project is expected to commence in earnest soon. 

“I’m going to describe this project in four words: Vision, investment, service and community,” Graver said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “… This will become a gathering place to train and collaborate learning. We will now also have a one-stop shop to access emergency response resources. This will allow for quicker deployment of potential lifesaving equipment by all Jones County first responders.”

Currently, emergency equipment used by county officials is stored in various places, Graver said, which leads to confusion as to the location of specific items and wastes time. 

The facility will also provide classroom space that is otherwise unavailable to county first responders, Graver said. A tentative completion date for its construction is May 2026. 

“In my 32 years of public service in Jones County, I’ve attended meetings in church basements, libraries, community buildings, recreational building meeting rooms (and) fire station truck bays, among other places.

Jones County Supervisor Jeff Swisher, who has served on the Anamosa Fire Department for 34 years and was a deputy sheriff, echoed Graver’s sentiments about the new facility. 

“The struggles we’ve had (in) trying to keep all our resources for emergencies in one area is tough, until we have this building. It’s exciting. It’s a benefit to first responders,” Swisher said. “I’m happy for (Greg) Graver and his staff that they will have this facility to work out of.”

Swisher acknowledged that the facility -- $1.6 million of which is paid for using federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars -- was never a shoe-in and took a massive effort to ultimately pass. 

“Some people doubted this facility, and I will tell them, ‘I will show you what this facility will do for Jones County, and you’re going to like it.’” Swisher said.