Barnstable County Sheriff’s inmate Brian Irvine uses a chisel to put finishing touches on a concrete-block wall that’s been blasted to smithereens, all part of the remodeling of an administrative building on Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) in Bourne. The structure is being converted from office space to a barracks for US Coast Guardsmen stationed there.
Another inmate, Richard Kelly, uses a jackhammer on a similar interior wall. Phase one, underway now, is demolition and prepping of interior walls, doorways, etc. to accommodate an entirely new internal layout – one more suited to living than to working. The crew, normally running five or six inmates and overseen by a supervising deputy, will be equally involved with the retrofit. That will include new walls, replacement carpet, some electrical work, and lots of repainting.
But carpets need to be ripped out before they can be replaced, a job being tackled here by inmate John MacKeil. Between tearing down and rebuilding up, it looks to be a three or four week job. That would fix donated inmate labor at somewhere between $20,000 and $25,000, using the state’s own computation for “volunteer labor value.”
As this photo demonstrates, the outside of the building is fine. A sign taking into account the changeover from workspace to living quarters should be the final touch required. The towns of Bourne, Sandwich, and Falmouth define the contours of JBCC, and crews were either on base or in one of those communities 109 times last year. Most projects were smaller than this one. With this job done, much of the crews’ attention will now shift to outdoor, spring cleanups. As always, Cape Cod municipalities and non-profits will be the beneficiaries.
Media release and photos furnished by Barnstable Sheriff’s Office
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