Options sought for jail project (01/22/08)

County commissioners would like some signal from the Jay County Council as to how much should be invested in renovating or expanding the county jail.

But county council members would like to see some options and are choking on an estimated $8 million price tag for a major expansion and complete renovation.

"I don't know where in thunder we're going to come up with the money," councilman Gerald Kirby told Jay County Commissioners Monday afternoon. "You're looking at taking a great big leap here. ... I'm seeing (the cost of expansion and renovation) as a major, major problem. ... Before I could be in favor of voting for funding I'd have to see some more options besides, 'Let's build a new jail.'"

Sheriff Ray Newton, jail staff members, and the commissioners have been working with two design firms - DLZ of Indianapolis and Schenkel-Shultz of Fort Wayne - in an attempt to address prisoner overcrowding issues and space problems for administration, 911 dispatch, and storage.

Both those firms have been offering design concepts and cost estimates at no charge in hopes of getting a contract to design a new or expanded jail.

"But in order to get more (in terms of architectural services) we need to make a commitment," commissioners' president Milo Miller Jr. said Monday.

Over the course of an hour, commissioners, the sheriff, and two county council members who are former sheriffs (Kirby and George Meehan) struggled with how to solve the aging jail's space problems without blowing a hole in the county's budget.

Miller said he expects some combination of renovation and addition will be the ultimate answer.

"I can see we're going to have to add on. How much? I don't know," he said. "I love the new one," Miller said of Schenkel-Shultz floor plans for an expansion, "but it's not in our billfold."

"It would be nice to do it all," said commissioner Gary Theurer. "But $8 million?"

"We've been putting this thing off for how long?" asked Miller at one point.

"Ten years," said Newton.

"We're going to have to do something with it," responded Miller.

Newton said jail population is currently about 40 and often swells to 60 or above. For the most part, those are local prisoners.

"Most people think we're building it (a jail addition) to make money from the Department of Corrections," said Newton.

"That's not true."

In particular, the sheriff said, the current facility falls short when it comes to female prisoners and prisoners who are unruly. "We're constantly moving people around."

Kirby urged Newton and the commissioners to look at scaling the project back in size and moving 911 dispatch and administrative offices to another building.

"I wouldn't be for it," Newton said of that proposal. "I think we need to stay where we're at." He added, "Another thing to consider is where we'll be in 20 years. ... I want to do this right."

Another option might be to construct the shell of the jail expansion while phasing in cell block sections over a period of years, suggested commissioner Faron Parr. "I don't know if it would be feasible or not," he said.

"We'll try to come up with some more options to present to the council," Miller told Meehan and Kirby. The council next meets Feb. 13.

"We're at the point where we've got to do something," said Theurer.

Newton also presented commissioners with his estimates on what an expanded jail with a capacity of 120 prisoners - as outlined by the design firms - would cost to operate.

The sheriff estimated about $250,000 in additional annual expense for increased staff in a 120-bed facility and $35,000 to $45,000 more annually in utility expenses.

In other business, the commissioners observed a moment of silence in memory of Martin Luther King Jr.

County employees expressed their wishes to take the day after Thanksgiving as a holiday and keep county offices open on Monday's King holiday, and the commissioners approved that wish.[[In-content Ad]]