Butler County Commissioner Dale Pinkerton says he's excited about the prospect of construction resuming on the new county prison by next month.

Travelers Casualty & Surety, the bonding company of A.G. Cullen of Pittsburgh, the project's general contractor who walked off the job in December, estimated that a new general contractor would be named near the end of this month.

But while taxpayers should feel cautiously upbeat about the prospect of construction resuming, they should feel less upbeat about what the overall prison morass is going to cost them, once all the construction delay-related bills are tallied.

The legal costs of getting construction restarted, as well as resolution of lawsuits related to the project, are likely to be formidable. Coupled with that is the fact that the project is at least $10 million over the initial estimate of $30 million.

Therefore, even if the new prison experiences no significant problems after construction is completed, the project cannot escape description as a financial boondoggle.

And that speaks to the lack of foresight and inadequate planning that will remain on the shoulders of the former board, which included current Commissioner James Kennedy.

"I think we're headed in the right direction," Pinkerton said, regarding Travelers' decision to proceed with a new head contractor.

Any movement forward at this point can be regarded as worthy of at least cautious optimism, since a troubling stalemate over the general construction contract has lingered since December.

The lack of a general contractor has limited the work that has been possible by other contractors who have remained on the job.

While the project hasn't remained at a complete standstill, it is likely occupancy of the new jail won't be possible until sometime in 2009.

It's anyone's guess how many months or years it might take to resolve the legal issues tied to the project, however. And, the longer it takes, the more burdensome the cost will be for the county's taxpayers.

On Sunday, the project will officially be six months behind schedule. People knowledgeable about construction might be pessimistic about the construction resuming as quickly as Pinkerton envisions.

Whoever the new general contractor might be, that company will have to thoroughly inspect and evaluate the work that has been done, as well as determine all of the work that remains. The new contractor won't open itself up to any legal ramifications from problems tied to Cullen.

It's not unreasonable to suggest that that inspection process could delay the official general construction restart until after May 31.

The commissioners should periodically update the taxpayers on the amount of the project's legal expenses tied to resumption of construction. The commissioners also should inform the taxpayers about where that money will come from.

"There's still a lot of work remaining to be done," said Tom King, one of the lawyers hired to resolve the construction-shutdown mess.

Considering all that's happened so far, taxpayers, despite Pinkerton's optimism, will likely remain skeptical until there is real evidence that the project's end is really in sight.