If the timeline used at the Jefferson County Commissioners’ jail kickoff meeting Thursday night holds true, building could begin on the county’s new jail — planned now as a 300-bed facility at a cost of about $36.7 million — by fall 2020 or spring 2021, depending on weather.
Last night as officials from various areas of law enforcement in the county came together, what also emerged were concerns beyond simply housing inmates accused of or serving a sentence for a crime.
In about a 90-minute session, Scott Carnegie, project manager for the architectural firm DLZ, outlined the steps involved and the time allocated for each phase that must happen before the construction company could be hired by the end of 2020.
As Carnegie discussed the process and asked for questions, Circuit Court Judge D.J. Mote and Magistrate Nancy Jacobs described situations that exist with the existing jail and courthouse, which are now side by side, and expressed concern those situations will be more difficult if not addressed in the new jail facility.
Mote said the judges “would like to talk about some sort of court facility in the jail building.
“One of our biggest concerns is access to custodial defendants in courts,” he said, noting that if the jail does not have a courtroom, “there will be a great number of transports.”
As the discussion continued, Mote and Jacobs said many defendants now are moved from the jail to the courthouse in groups and any conversations those defendants have with their lawyers or families are in hallways or areas where there is no privacy because there is no other space. Jail officers must move the defendants, stay with them until the court session is concluded and move them back to the jail.
“What Judge Mote is saying, we deal with every day,” Sheriff David Thomas noted. He said he has given a great deal of thought to the points the judges were making and “wants to contribute to that discussion of space.”
There also are other needs.
“Presently we have one courtroom equipped to do a jury trial,” Jacobs said. Both Jacobs and Mote emphasized that three courtrooms operating could help to ensure the judicial process moves faster, not just for the courts but also for the jail.
“The longer the case periods, the more money we’re spending,” Mote said.
Mote said statistics show the largest percentage of cases are resolved through agreement “so you have to have people together.”
He also said he frequently has CHINS (Child in Need of Services) hearings in his court and that a parent or guardian often is in custody and has to be taken to the court. He questioned how effectively those hearings can be scheduled and conducted if parents are in custody and have to be transported to a hearing downtown.
Mote also said he wanted to put on the table the issue of in-house treatment as the plans for the new and existing jail are under discussion.
“Our county is being ravaged by methampetamine,” he said.
Mote’s concern was underlined late last year when Jefferson County Prosecutor David Sutter told county council members that there were 31 cases of possession of methamphetamine that were handled by his office in 2014. That number rose to 204 by the end of 2018, he said.
Commission President David Bramer told Mote that there were discussions in beginning stages on in-house treatment, which has been impossible because of space restrictions.
Chief Robert Black of the Madison Township Fire Department reminded the group that the jail facility will be in Madison Township’s coverage area and they want to make sure they are involved in the beginning phases of the project. Carnegie assured Black that his department will be involved when the project moves to the schematic design phase.
Carnegie gave the group a 10-page Building Program outline that listed spaces usually built into jails and asked the group to work through that outline before they get together next on Feb. 7. That outline will serve as a starting point to define what spaces will be required and the sizes.
“We’re not saying you will want all the spaces in document. We keep a master list from projects over the years,” he said.
Thomas explained his officers were meeting weekly to make sure they were keeping good notes on what they think they will need in the new facility. He also said they plan to visit jails where the different options Carnegie outlined were in use so they could talk with the sheriff and jail personnel.
Carnegie said the consideration in jail construction today includes the question of whether inmates are taken to services or services are taken to inmates.
He said a staffing analysis will go along with the planning of the facility as both the sheriff’s department and the judges expressed concerns about the ability of existing staff to handle the additional work with the increases created by the new jail.
Carnegie, who has worked with the design of other jail facilities in the state, outlined a process that falls into six categories and a suggested time frame for each:
• Programming — determining the required spaces, number and size of spaces and a site survey (Jan. 23, 2020 to Feb. 20, 2020)
• Schematic design — preliminary layouts, exterior building finishes, primary building system materials, geotechnical investigation, project cost estimate, formal presentation for owner approval (Feb. 6, 2020 to April 2, 2020)
• Design development — continue site layout and floor plans, building elevations developed and approved, integrate building systems, interior room finishes, written narrative of selections, preliminary compliance review with Indiana Department of Corrections, preparation of cost estimate, formal presentation for owner approval (April 2, 2020 to June 4, 2020)
• Construction documents — construction details finalized, specifications finalized, bidding and procurement documents prepared, submit details to Indiana Department of Corrections for review/approval, project cost estimate prepared (June 4, 2020 to Sept. 3, 2020)
• Bidding — Develop process to receive competitive bids, participate in prebid meeting, award project to successful bidders/contractors (Sept. 3, 2020 to Nov. 19, 2020 — to be confirmed by commissioners)
• Construction Administration — Advise, consultation with commission throughout, preconstruction meeting, review submittals, review and confirm ongoing construction work to make sure it is in compliance with documents, review certificates for payments submitted by contractors, conduct review, issue certificate of substantial completion when complete ( Nov. 19, 2020 to May, 2022 — to be confirmed by commissioners)
Carnegie told the commissioners that “throughout the process, we’ll have to make tough decisions...always cognizant of the budget.”
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