The subcommittee tasked with recommending a new jail site to a larger body of city and county officials settled on a site at its last meeting Monday afternoon.
The Collaborative Justice Project Working Subcommittee voted 3-2 to recommend the county renovate the current jail in addition to the Curry Building, a county-owned property west of the jail. The decision comes days after detainees held at the current Monroe County jail filed a lawsuit suing the county for unsafe conditions.
Mayor Kerry Thomson said a renovation-plus-Curry option is a top choice with caveats.
“I have a vision of this combined property as being able to construct part of the building without disrupting the current jail, get that inhabitable, and then begin renovations of the existing justice center,” she said. “I have no idea if that's feasible, and we really do need experts to come in and opine on that.”
County commissioners declared an overcrowding "emergency" at the jail and proposed sending detainees to other counties until a new jail is built to address poor conditions. That would cost the county $3-5 million in the first year.
Deputy prosecutor April Wilson and deputy public defender Karen Wrenbeck opposed the renovation-plus-Curry option as the working group’s first choice. City councilmember Sydney Zulich, Thomson and county councilor Liz Feitl voted in favor.
The subcommittee also voted to recommend a second choice, the Thomson property at 1620 South Rogers St. That passed unanimously.
The property was not the body’s first choice because of power lines that must be moved before construction begins, which would delay the project.
Zulich said it was “frustrating” that the county had not already moved the power lines since the property had been in consideration for years.
"I do feel this would be a very strong contender to be the next jail location,” she said. “And because due diligence was not done prior to this moment, it doesn’t feel like we can.”
Wilson said choosing to build within the city means choosing further delays for inmates held in poor conditions and community impact.
“If we choose to build in the city, we are choosing for there to be inflation and construction costs,” she said. "We're choosing for reinvestment and redesign, costs in new site evaluations and preparation, litigation and fees or attorney fees. The longer the lawsuit continues, at some point it's going to be an impact to the community.”
The subcommittee will submit its recommendations to a joint session of city and county officials through a formal letter. The meeting date of the larger joint body is yet to be determined.
