Not Enough Money to Pay for Increased Cost of Proposed Jail Expansion, Says Franklin BOC

Franklin County Commissioners are balking at the proposed cost of expanding the Franklin County Detention Center. 

Sheriff Stevie Thomas said the current jail was built to house 78 inmates, but he needs room to house 98 more with separate areas for women and non-violent offenders. 

At their regular meeting Monday night, 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 approximately 15,500 square feet or $153 a square foot,” Wright said. “The typical cost of a new jail is typically $260 to $280 (a square foot). We are $100 less than what it would normally cost in this 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 figure we were quoted of no more than $1.5 million?” Harper asked. “I think when we first were told of this, $1.3 or $1.4 was thrown out and then you said $1.5. But ever since that day, we’ve never seen anything even close to that figure.” 

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

“I admit I was in error,” Wright said. 

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 problems at $2.4 million dollars, plus the $180,000 that it’s going to take to man that unit, plus $2,000 a month for utilities,” Harper said. “We’re going to run into big problems with our budget.” 

Harper said Wright needs to go back to the drawing board and get the figures back down to $1.5 million as initially quoted. 

“I mean I don’t know where the money is going to come from. That’s my frustration,” he said.  

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.

“I don’t know of any kinds of bonds out there that would pay for this,” Harper said. 

Franklin County Sheriff Stevie Thomas noted his department already has $1-million in reserves to help pay for the project.  

“We’re spending right now $15,000 a month to house out eight female inmates in Jackson County,” he told the board. “The money we save there could go to pay the utilities.” 

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

“It’s not only what it’s going to cost, but how we’re going to pay for it,” he said. “We know we have approximately a million dollars in the jail fund. We need to know just the basic costs difference is between what finances we currently have and what we’re 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. 

After more discussion, the board decided, without taking a vote, to hold a work session at a future date to discuss the cost of the new jail pod further.