The inertia of the multimillion-dollar project has refocused attention on a question that has nagged the project planners from the start: How big of a jail does the county need?
A 12-member Justice Center Steering Committee overseeing plans to build a new jail have spent more than three years studying options and planning. They started with a goal capacity of 1,600 beds, but current population trends require they increase their planning number to 1,900 beds.
“Were there really studies that talked about how effective would be? Was it really studied in terms of the market? Probably not. Not the way it should have been,” Appelbaum told committee members during a November 2021 meeting. Soon after, the committee decided to put off planning for the courthouse and only recently resumed conversations this year. Members still have not decided whether the courthouse will be renovated in place or built new on some other downtown site.For the jail, the study showed that just to bring the current structure up to standards – and ensure it complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act – would cost $200-300 million, without addressing programming or operations.
Members began outlining plans for the Diversion Center, which was predicted to redirect as many as 340 people with mental health or substance abuse issues away from the jail and into treatment, depending on which types of charges qualified for the program.by allowing for quicker reviews of charges, diversion, and least restrictive bond options, thereby expediting the court process and shortening inmate stays.
Meanwhile, the average daily population in the jail has climbed, from a low of 900 at the height of the pandemic, to roughly 1,600 today, even with the courts fully operating and the sheriff’s office turning away some misdemeanant offenders and expanding its electronic monitoring program. Sheriff Viland believes a higher bed count is “more realistic” to historical population data and current trends.
Some members of the steering committee have suggested slowing down planning to allow more time for that to happen. “Acting on the jail isn’t important, it’s necessary...we can’t lose money by indecision,” Gallagher told committee members at a November 2020 meeting. “We are going to move forward with this committee or without this committee.”The county is planning a low-rise, 800,000 square-foot facility that would more closely resemble an office building than a jail. It wouldn’t require razor ribbon fencing or security towers, allowing it to better blend into its surrounding neighborhood.
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