Franklin County Jail Pod Funding to be Discussed Tonight

Franklin County Commissioners will hold a special work session tonight after their regular meeting to discuss how to fund a proposed new jail pod at the Franklin County Detention Center.

 

At their regular meeting last month,  the board heard from architect Tom Wright of Wright, Mitchell & Associates who said even with some trimming of the design, the total cost would now be somewhere around $2.4 million, with a $57-thousand dollar contingency.

 

Wright said in today’s economy, that is an extremely good price.

 

“That was for 15,500  square feet or about $153 a square foot. Today’s cost in the Atlanta area because since then I have gone back and re-checked it out again, using metro Atlanta and going out to the surrounding counties. Dodge comes back saying the typical cost of the jail is 260 to 280. We pulled down. We are over a hundred dollars what the average what is being built in the region”

 

The proposed plan calls for an extra pod to house non-violent offenders and women.

 

It would consist of four dormitories. 

 

Three  unisex dorms would contain 24 beds each, one dorm for women only would have 22 beds, and there would also be two cells  in an isolation section which would each have two beds.

 

But the $2.4 million is not what Wright had initially told the board the extra pod would cost and commissioner Clint Harper wanted answers.

 

“What happened to the figures that we were quoted that no more than $1.5 million dollars? When we first talked, as matter of fact, to get the OK of going forward with this, I think the 1.2 to 1.3 was thrown out, and then you said it would be no more than 1.5. And ever since that day we’ve not seen anything close to that figure.”

 

Wright said the initial cost he quoted the board was based on old figures and did not include a$900,000 in security equipment.

 

But Harper countered that there was no way the county can afford to pay $2.4 million for a new jail pod.

 

“I’m telling you, we’re looking at serious problem with $2.4 million dollars plus $180,000 that it is going to take to man that unit. Plus, the $2000 a month for the utilities. We are going to run into serious problems in our budget. I don’t know where the money is at. That is my frustration. I think we need to redesign to get that $1.5 million. In my opinion, that’s what we should do.”

 

Harper said the county would have to raise taxes to pay $2.4 million for a new jail pod.

 

Commission chair Thomas Bridges suggested the county begin looking for alternative funding in the form of USDA loans or bonds.

 

Jacques said the board needs to have a separate work session to discuss the matter further.

 

“It’s not only what’s it going to cost, but how are we going to pay for it. You know, we know we have approximately $1 million dollars in the jail fund. We need to know what the basic cost difference is between what finances we currently have , and what we we are looking at , just tentatively, on the actual cost.”

 

Commissioner David Strickland agreed and said Wright did not give the board the true picture when he first presented the project.

 

Tonight’s work session will take place immediately following the regular meeting at 6p.