A 30-month time line has been set for completion of a new Vigo County Jail.
It calls for the county jail, or security complex, to be completed with all equipment and furnishing installed, and staff trained and ready for occupation Oct. 1, 2019.
The timeline is part of a joint stipulation agreed upon Monday as part of a federal lawsuit on behalf of Jauston Huerta and others claiming the county facility has "chronic overcrowding and unconstitutional procedures regarding inmate's right to adequate protection against exposure to disease, and to remedy continuing violations of due process of law."
The agreement developed from a status conference hearing Monday before federal Magistrate Judge Denise K. LaRue. It was signed by Michael K. Sutherlin, attorneys for the plaintiffs, and Terre Haute attorneys David Friedrich for the county and Craig McKee for sheriff Greg Ewing, who is named individually in the lawsuit.
The stipulation is now under review for a court order from U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
It stipulates that "Vigo County does not meet constitutional standards for reasons of overcrowding, under-staffing and inadequate space."
The underlying reasons, the parties stipulate, include additional detentions necessitated by state law, which requires county jails to house Level 6 felons and requirements of classification and separation of inmates in a secure environment.
The parties stipulate that efforts by Sheriff Ewing to "ameliorate conditions by transferring detainees to other counties has not restored the operation of the Vigo County Jail to constitutionally acceptable standards."
"Accordingly, defendants admit that they have been unable to operate the Vigo County Jail in a manner that meets constitutional standards," the document says.
County Attorney Michael Wright said the stipulation is important to the county as the claims in the lawsuit cannot be used as a means for other lawsuits.
The parties, the document says, "agree this stipulation does not constitute an admission of fault or liability by the defendants to any individual plaintiff, or any class member, and nothing in this stipulation relieves an individual making a claim for bodily injury or other personal injury from satisfying the burden of proving proximate cause and damages for any claim against any defendants arising out of the operation of the Vigo County Jail."
Additionally, the agreement caps Sutherlin's fee at $42,000. His fees to date are about $27,000. It sets his fee at $450 per hour. If the attorney cost is above $42,000, the county has a right to seek a lower per-hour attorney rate, Wright said.
The parties are also to continue to conduct telephone status conferences or other proceedings at regular intervals to "encourage communication among the parties."
Commissioner Jon Marvel said the stipulation "shows for our local judiciary, now there is a time frame, as well as for our local councils, city and county," he said.
The Terre Haute City Council will come into the issue because county officials plan to seek a rezoning petition for the former International Paper site to be rezoned for a jail.
Wright said that while the property is zoned M-2, which has the most uses available including heavy industry, the city's zoning does not have a specific use for a county jail.
The county will seek that rezoning before the Vigo County Area Plan Commission as well as before the Terre Haute City Council in May.