Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the new Bay County Jail, which opened its doors last Saturday. Three hundred fifty inmates were transferred from the old jail in downtown Panama City to the lockup in Bayou George.

The new jail offers many advantages, but officials admit they are working through some issues.

"We've had scheduling problems with recreation. We had some scheduling problems with visitation, but visitation went well yesterday. It's gone well today. So every day we get a little bit better at getting the routine down," said Joseph Ponte, jail warden.

Ponte says most of the growing pains are just employees getting used to their new surroundings, and within a few weeks a routine should be underway.

The high rise building where the former jail was housed is not nearly as safe as the new one-story jail, but warden Ponte says increased security also poses some problems.

"One of the things about this facility is that we're always going to have good sound security practices. While that's good, it also slows things down, and that's one of the issues in prisons and jails. We get a lot of security in place, getting things done always takes a little bit longer," said Ponte.

Transporting will also be easier with the one-story setup.

"You see everyday getting a little more consistent, so a little more of things we learn yesterday we applied today," said Ponte.

A total of 900 inmates will be housed at the jail. Right now the Corrections Corporation of America is still running the jail until the contract expires in October. Then the sheriff's office will take over on the 9th.