Madison County Sheriff Scott Mellinger shows some of the maximum security doors that are malfunctioning in this cell block of the jail. The door for cell 205 will only close half way, and cell 207 will not close tightly, leaving a large gap where inmates can get their hands through. John P. Cleary | The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON — The Madison County Jail is facing significant infrastructure problems, prompting Sheriff Scott Mellinger to renew a call to start planning for a new facility.
The current Madison County Jail opened in 1984 after a federal judge ordered the county to replace the former jail, which was constructed in 1939.
“Every day there is a new issue at the jail,” Mellinger told the Madison County Commissioners on Monday.
Earlier this year, county properties manager Al Eppely said it will cost $1 million annually to maintain the jail.
Mellinger said 18 of the large, steel maximum security doors are not functioning and can be manipulated and opened by the inmates.
During a tour of the jail Wednesday, Mellinger and Steve Davis, a maintenance worker, showed several of the doors that either could not be closed or only partially closed.
Davis said most of the parts can’t be replaced and the door frames and tracks are bent. Two of the doors were recently replaced at a cost of $16,000 each.
“When the jail was built, the doors were supposed to last 15 years,” Davis said. “We’ve gotten 36 years out of them.”
Mellinger said the doors will either not close or not indicate in the control room if they are secure.
He said the majority of the maximum security doors that are not functioning are in the cell blocks being used to house inmates charged with violent crimes.
Major Joey Cole said when the correctional officers make their three-times-a-day inspections of the cellblocks there have to be two officers entering at a time.
Jail Commander Tyler Jugg told the Commissioners if repairs are not made the county is facing potential legal issues.
“I can’t protect my staff and the public if the doors won’t close,” he said.
Davis said another problem is that there isn’t adequate space to make the repairs when there is an issue with the plumbing.
He said several cell blocks don’t have hot water because the facets are leaking and it costs $1,000 each to replace.
“It’s past time,” Davis said of the need for a new jail.
Kelly Gaskill, president of the Board of Commissioners, agreed that the jail is in bad shape.
Earlier this year, Mellinger asked the Commissioners to conduct a jail feasibility study to replace the current facility and was told it had to wait on the passage of a county ethics and gift policy ordinance.
That ordinance has not been adopted as of Wednesday.
Members of the Madison County Council and Board of County Commissioners were provided with four dates and times to tour the jail, Mellinger said. He said none have visited the facility.
Mellinger said every surrounding county is moving into or constructing new facilities.
“I’m cautiously hopeful we can move forward on a new facility after the first of the year,” he said. “We have architects and consultants knocking on the door almost every day.”
Mellinger said, with the documentation already in place, a feasibility study could be completed in 30 days.
Planning for a new jail will take one year and two years to construct, he said.
Mellinger said, depending on the number of beds, the estimated cost of a jail is in the $40 million to $50 million range.
“Every year, the cost of material and labor is increasing by $2 million to $4 million,” he said. “We’re looking at spending $45 million to $50 million.”
Mellinger said the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation three years ago that allows counties to have a dedicated local option income tax to pay for the construction of a new jail.
“I hope a new jail is under construction by the end of my term in 2022,” he said.
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