Taking a step forward (02/14/08)

A major jail renovation/expansion plan doesn't have full approval, but a major step towards that end has been taken.

After a lengthy discussion outlining the need for major changes to the current jail, built in 1984, and retracing the steps taken towards a proposed $4 million project, members of the Jay County Council agreed Wednesday to fund schematic drawings and a financial study that could help determine how much jail the county can afford.

Members of the council were generally receptive to the concept of moving forward with the project, with some saying they believe original plans by Jay County Commissioners for an $8 million project would be a better long-term investment.

A presentation included comments from Jay County Sheriff Ray Newton, Commissioners Milo Miller Jr., Gary Theurer and Faron Parr, and an outline of the proposed project by Jeff Badders of Schenkel Schultz Architecture.

Badders, a Portland resident who works for the Fort Wayne firm, explained that the commissioners' original plan was for an $8 million, 125-bed facility which would move virtually all inmate housing into new construction on a lot just north of the existing jail.

Cost concerns led to a modification of the plans. That modification would leave some cells in the current facility and add a two-story addition connected to the existing jail.

Those changes, which include some unfinished areas, would trim the cost to approximately $4 million, Badders explained.

Those estimates include $1 million for renovation to the existing building, and $3 million in new construction costs.

The commissioners have said, and repeated Wednesday, that they believe a $4 million bonding project, with payments of $400,000 per year over 15 years, can be done without raising taxes. Bond payments would be an estimated $700,000 annually over 20 years for an $8 million project.

A topic of discussion Wednesday was uncertainty over current efforts by the General Assembly to reform Indiana's property tax system and possible effects on county budgets.

"We work with a budget the owner gives us, and we design a building that fits that amount," said Badders. "We're in the business of selling you whatever you define as your needs. You want to design a jail that requires the least amount of staff for the greatest number of prisoners," Badders said.

Badders estimated that the initial step approved Wednesday - the creation of schematic drawings - will cost approximately $40,000. That process will help determine the scope and design of the project, as well as give a more accurate estimate of the costs.

A comprehensive financial analysis by Financial Solutions Group Inc. consultant Greg Guerrettaz will be between $22,000 and $26,000. That study will take at least 30 to 60 days to complete after it is underway, Miller said Wednesday night.

Newton, who has discussed the issue with the commissioners extensively since taking office in January 2007, said issues of overcrowding, an inability to segregate inmates who are a danger to others or themselves, and maintenance issues in the existing jail all help make the case for moving forward with a jail renovation/expansion.

The proposed project would also free up space in the existing jail for a larger 911/dispatch area and office and create new space which could be used for education and rehabilitation programs such as general education development (GED) training and substance abuse counseling.

Several people mentioned the possibility of generating income in the new facility by housing prisoners from other counties and/or the Indiana Department of Correction.

Parr said he spoke to a commissioner from another county earlier Wednesday who expressed interest in contracting with Jay County to house prisoners.

"There are other counties looking for places to house their inmates," said Newton, who added that the jail currently has six inmates from the Indiana Department of Correction - including four local DOC inmates housed locally through a community corrections agreement with DOC.

Several members of the public spoke in favor of the jail project in general, and the more expensive of the two options in particular.

"I'm for the full-scale," said Jim Bruner, deputy director of Jay County Emergency Management. If the project is done in steps, "you're going to end up with it costing more."

Under the more expensive of the two options, emergency management would move into office space at the jail.

Bill Baldwin, Jay County 911 coordinator, said Wednesday that he believes moving emergency management into the jail makes sense because it is likely that in the next several years the Department of Homeland Security will require 911 operations be placed under the authority of emergency management instead of under county sheriffs.

A jail project "is a need at this point; it's a necessity in my opinion," Matt Tarter, a deputy sheriff, said Wednesday.

"I think you'll see us come to you with a contract ... to commit to a number of beds," Parr said. "None of us wants to raise taxes, and we think we can (do the project without a raise in taxes)."

Councilman Fred Bailey said he had surveyed 30 area residents on the issue, and that 80 percent favored the more expensive option.

[[In-content Ad]]An issue that was contentious seven months ago during budget discussions caused barely a ripple when it was raised again.

Members of the Jay County Council agreed unanimously Wednesday to fund the next six months of operations for Jay County Community Development, a division of Jay County Development Corporation that has focused on obtaining grants for local communities and entities.

During budget discussions in July, members of the council funded community development for a six-month period, reflecting criticism from local officials regarding the job performance of community developer Ami Huffman.

Bill Bradley, executive director of JCDC, made the request for funding Wednesday, saying he believes that Huffman is performing well.

Since the council's action in July, a $500,000 grant applied for by Huffman was awarded to Jay County towards the construction of a new fire station/emergency medical service base near Dunkirk.

Councilman Gerald Kirby, who had made the motion to fund only six months for community development, said Wednesday he had discussed the matter with Bradley and made the motion to fund the next six months.

Before making the motion, Kirby praised Bradley, who took over as JCDC executive director Oct. 1, but said nothing about Huffman.

Last summer, Huffman faced criticism over her handling of several grants and grant applications - most notably from several members of the Salamonia Town Council regarding issues with a grant and renovation of a former school as a community center.

Members of the JCDC board of directors defended Huffman at that time, saying she was doing her job well and that there had been misunderstandings.

Bradley told members of the council Wednesday he plans to attend their March meeting to discuss proposed revisions in the process of granting loans from economic development income tax (EDIT) funds.

Also Wednesday, council members Judy LeMaster, Mike Leonhard, Fred Bailey, Marilyn Coleman, Jim Zimmerman, George Meehan and Kirby conditionally approved about $67,000 in additional money to the 2008 budget.

The action can not be formally approved because Jay County's 2008 budget has not been OK'd by state officials due to a reassessment of commercial and industrial property that was ordered last fall.

Council agreed to consider and vote on the requests for additional appropriations presented Wednesday. When the county's budget is approved by the state, the requests will be submitted for state review and approval.

New money approved by the council included $52,678.71 (innkeeper's tax fund - contractual services); $10,950 (court ASSA & E Fund - substance abuse program contractual services; $1,412.26 (county general - public defender wages); $725.64 (court interpreter fund - court translation service); and $463.47 (homeland security - machinery and equipment).

The innkeeper's tax money is generated through a 5 percent tax levied on all hotel and motel rooms in Jay County. A county tourism board uses the money to market the county as a tourist destination.

The $10,950 for the court substance abuse program is generated by fines levied on those convicted of crimes who have a substance abuse problem.

In other business, the council:

•Approved several transfers, including three that allowed Jay County Auditor Nancy Culy, a former first deputy auditor who became auditor Jan. 1, to collect unused sick and vacation pay. The transfers totaled $3,633.42.

The following transfers were also approved: Surveyor's labor to surveyor's clerical, $1,000; Jay County EMS overtime to reserves, $4,920.28; and Jay County Sheriffs Department sergeant to deputies, $6,544.92.

•Agreed to deposit $159,623.27 in the county's Rainy Day fund. The money represents 50 percent of the amount unspent that was returned to the county at the end of 2007.

•Appointed Kirby as a representative to the Jay County Chamber of Commerce.

•Recommended that Jay County Commissioners enter into a contract with Kent Irwin of Waggoner, Irwin and Scheele Associates, Muncie, for human resource services.