‘Doing nothing is not an option’: Fond du Lac County sheriff continues push for new jail

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WBAY) - The Fond du Lac County Jail is showing its age.

Overcrowding and failing infrastructure are putting inmates and staff at risk, and county leaders say it may be time for a long-overdue solution, but at what cost?

At first, it was just another water main leak, but for the staff and inmates at the Fond du Lac County Jail, it was the latest reminder of decades of cracks, leaks, and crumbling walls.

“I don’t know how much longer we can go at the rate we’re going at, and the problems again only continue to get worse,” says Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt.

Built in the 1950s and expanded multiple times, the jail is essentially four buildings in one.

The wiring is outdated, the sewer lines are crumbling, asbestos-covered pipes remain, and the foundation is uneven.

Pipes and utilities are buried in reinforced concrete as well, making repairs costly and time-consuming.

“The problems aren’t self-resolving. The building isn’t going to stop settling on its own. The pipes aren’t going to stop bursting. The sewer lines aren’t going to stop clogging,” says Sheriff Waldschmidt.

The land along Scott Road, next to the County Highway Department, was purchased 5 years ago by the county for more than $1.4 million for over 50 acres, but since that purchase, no construction has begun.

A recent Department of Corrections inspection flagged the jail’s overcrowding and aging infrastructure.

Designed for 335 adults, the facility often exceeds capacity, forcing inmates to be housed in Green Lake County and rely on GPS monitoring.

Space is so limited that low, medium, and high-risk inmates must be mixed, falling short of current safety standards.

“There’s no cheap solution. Doing nothing is not an option. And the options they do have before them. None of them are going to be easy or inexpensive,” says Sheriff Waldschmidt.

Band-aid after band-aid has kept the jail operating, but Sheriff Waldschmidt says the building’s issues can no longer be ignored.

County supervisors will meet in February to review bids from construction companies, moving closer to potentially designing a new, long-term facility.