The subcommittee of city and county officials tasked with recommending a new jail site narrowed its scope to five properties Monday.
But with about a week left until its deadline, city council attorney Larry Allen said much of the information the subcommittee needs to fully evaluate potential sites remains unclear.
“I'm saying that not to delay, but just to acknowledge the reality that there are a lot of these details that are just going to be unknowable at this phase without the expenditure of a significant amount of money,” he said.
Allen said each site will require rezoning and, for privately-owned properties, appraisals and environmental due diligence that can take months, making some details impossible to pin down in time.
The remaining properties are Tapp Road North, Tapp Road South, Thomson, Fullerton and the option to renovate the current site with the Curry building.
Hopewell West, Hopewell East and the old Herald-Times Building are among those sidelined as potential alternatives, pending more information or if other viable options are unavailable.
Following multiple extensions to the county's jail settlement agreement, the ACLU is considering legal action over current conditions at the Monroe County Jail.
The subcommittee agreed to judge whether sites can meet a constitutional standard of care using the square footage from the Aug. 29, 2025, jail design for North Park, a site the county council rejected in May.
Deputy prosecutor April Wilson suggested the group consult a December 2025 letter from the ACLU, which lists conditions a new jail must have to meet constitutional standards of care.
“There are 200 plus human beings in that building, and every day they're in that justice building, or in that jail, they're being exposed to conditions that have to change,” Wilson said. “So, time is one of our most critical, if not the most critical, factor we have.”
The group will continue evaluating sites on July 9, which includes a dedicated hour for public comment at 7 p.m. before voting on its final recommendation on July 13.
