New Henry County Jail, Sheriff’s Office to open in November

MT. PLEASANT - Finishing touches are being completed on the new Henry County Jail as the Sheriff says the facility will be open in November.

The new jail and Sheriff's Office has been a long awaited move for Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee as his office began preparing for the project in the fall of 2013, before an architect was hired in 2016 to design the facility. Following a vote in August of 2017, a $9.1 million dollar measure was passed to fund the new office and jail. Voters passed the tax measure with 84.7 percent of voters in favor of the project. Construction broke ground in May of 2018 and the building is now undergoing finishing touches. The facility is located at 800 S. Grand Avenue in Mt. Pleasant.

McNamee explained that the 9-1-1 center will be moved into the new building on Nov. 13 with all other departments following. During the move, 9-1-1 calls will be received by neighboring counties, who will give the calls to Henry County Sheriff's Office.

During the move, current inmates at the county jail will be farmed out to nearby local jails. McNamee anticipates the jail will remain empty for the first 10 days after his office moves into the new space to further allow staff time to acclimate to the new layout and system. His office is in the process of evacuating their current jail in preparation for the move.

Perhaps the largest upgrade is the new jail facility, which will include 108 beds. The former jail can only house 8 inmates.

'Currently, we farm out about two-thirds or three-quarters [of our inmates], depending on our population,” McNamee said.

Ninety-six of the 108 beds are to house inmates and the remaining 12 are for holding. Four cells are also dedicated as 'special status” cells separate from other pods, which include bunks for two inmates per cell. The special status cells hold one inmate per cell and can be assigned to transgender inmates as well other inmates with special circumstances.

Overall, the office is growing from a space with 2,000 square feet to 25,600 square feet. The new facility will include electronic doors, intercoms and cameras and will be able to accommodate medium and maximum security inmates as well as work release inmates. With increased space, McNamee anticipates farming in inmates from neighboring counties.

With the larger facility, McNamee also noted that the office has had to increase jail staff, which now has 13 full-time workers and 2 part-timers. The sheriff expects to address additional staffing if the jail population grows.

The new facility is split into two main loops, one which covers the administrative area and the other covering the jail area. Special features of the building include bullet-resistant glass and walls as well as extra security measures including a high-tech camera system that will allow staff to monitor all areas of the facility. McNamee also explained that every entrance into the jail portion has double doors.

'It's set up where one door is open, the other has to be closed. It can be overridden in case you want to bring a ladder through or have an emergency,” McNamee said.

Currently, staff are going through training to learn how to operate the new electronic system of the building meaning McNamee's staff is being split into three groups to prepare for the move. As one group is training, another is running the jail and another is at the office and taking calls.

'It's going to be tough the next six to eight weeks. We're really going to have a lot on our plate,” the sheriff said, recognizing that his staff will be stretched thin for the move. However, McNamee also noted his staff are on board for the transition.

'I like the whole thing, I can't narrow it down to one spot. I think the safety and the efficiency of the building is probably the biggest perk,” McNamee said.

Before moving into their new space, the sheriff's office will be holding open houses for the public to tour the facility. Tours will be on Nov. 9. For more information, the sheriff's office can be reached at 319-385-2712.