Sheriff, Supervisors discuss plans for new county jail

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

The jail-overcrowding problem at the Henry County jail isn?t a new problem. However, after two bond referendums for a new jail failed in 2005 and 2006, Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee has a new plan and is ready to take some action.

Nearly a decade removed from the last referendum, the Henry County Supervisors could take that action during its next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the form of signing with an architect for the project.

?I have been working on this on and off since I took office,? McNamee told the supervisors during their regular meeting yesterday. McNamee won the sheriff?s post in 2012, and took office Jan. 1, 2013.

On Oct. 9, McNamee and architect Larry Goldberg, of Goldberg Group Architects, PC, of St. Joseph, Mo., met with the supervisors for preliminary discussions on three different jail concepts. All of the designs were for a 42-bed jail with square footage and alignment of space the only differences. Goldberg said any of the jails could be built for $3.86 million. The plans include building the jail on to the current sheriff?s office, extending southward.

McNamee and the supervisors continued discussions yesterday. The sheriff said he prefers a jail option with 11,300 square feet, with a per square footage cost of $342. ?Is it perfect? No. But I think we will make a few tweaks if we decide to go with it,? McNamee stated.

The next step in the process would be for the county to enter into an agreement with Goldberg to develop the plans for a new jail and do a study for $3,500. That decision is expected to be made next Tuesday.

Currently, the Henry County Jail is a three-cell facility with a maximum capacity of eight prisoners. Daily county jail population, however, has ranged from the low teens to mid 20s since McNamee took office. The overcrowding has forced Henry County inmates to be housed in neighboring county jails, costing the county greatly.

McNamee said that in the last 15 years, the county has spent over $1.9 million in transporting and housing inmates in area jails. Since he has taken office, he said the county has spent an average of $12,093 monthly for transporting and housing county inmates elsewhere.

In 2014, the county spent nearly $190,000 in inmate housing and transportation costs, and has already racked up to $94,000 through June 15 of this year, according to statistics supplied by McNamee.

?It has been a growing problem for a long time and continues to be a problem,? McNamee said of the jail.

Another problem with the current jail is the inability to segregate inmates, he said. ?We have around 40 sex offenders in our county and if we have any in custody, they have to be jailed separately.?

Jail referendums defeated earlier this century were comparable in cost to the one being proposed by McNamee. The 2005 referendum called for a $3.4 million facility and the next year, a $4 million project failed by 16 votes.

McNamee theorized that those referendums might have failed because they included a new sheriff?s office. ?I heard in the past (that) we don?t need a new sheriff?s office that the office we have is just fine,? he said. ?So, I have been looking at jail expansion plans (which do not include a new sheriff?s office.)?

McNamee said he considered a jail project without having an architect. If the project were just an expansion, it could be done with a structural engineer instead of an architect. ?After much thought, I didn?t think it was worth the money to go without an architect. I think it is money well-spent,? he concluded.

Goldeberg has told McNamee he would charge seven percent of the total cost of the project for his fee, which according to McNamee is very reasonable. ?Most architects charge 13-14 percent,? the sheriff said.

He said if the proposed jail becomes reality, he would have to add one or two jailers. ?I?m very conservative, if we don?t have to add a person, I won?t do it. However, we run at night with one jailer and that would not be safe with 42 inmates.?

McNamee reiterated a new jail is not a luxury, but rather a necessity. ?I think the jail is needed, the proposal is sensible and cost-effective. Currently, we are transporting everybody, ranging from petty offenders to murderers to neighboring jails. It is unsafe.?

During the meeting, the sheriff also briefly discussed courtroom security with the supervisors. He and several other county officials were going to Des Moines County to watch a drill. Des Moines County was closing its courthouse at 3 p.m., and the drill included an armed suspect.

McNamee said District Court Judge Cynthia Danielson has formed a committee to study courtroom security and the committee had met twice. ?Judge Danielson is talking with state officials about cyber security in the courtroom. I think the committee has it well in hand,? McNamee reported.

The Board of Supervisors will meet again on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 9 a.m., in the Henry County Courthouse.