AMARILLO, Texas — At a special Potter County Commissioners Court meeting on Aug. 6, 2025, jail consultant Kenny Burns told commissioners that recent peak inmate counts have exceeded the county jail’s 599-bed design capacity and that the county must decide whether to expand the existing facility, build a new jail, or accept the ongoing costs of doing nothing.

Burns, who said the court and jail staff had toured the Potter County Jail and a more modern facility in Deaf Smith County, told the court the county’s facility needs analysis from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), dated August 2024, should be revalidated. "On that peak day, you don't have enough space," Burns said, describing recent monthly peaks that, he said, have been well north of 600 inmates.

Why it matters: commissioners were presented with multiple data points that affect capacity planning, including jail commission (TCJS) reports, Potter County jail population and average daily population figures, paper-ready inmate counts, an Amarillo community growth report (Oct. 2024) showing population shifts into Randall County, and a TxDOT vehicle count that Burns said shows about 32,000 vehicles per day on I-40 through Amarillo—an indicator of transient traffic that can affect arrests and jail usage.

Key facts and figures

- Design capacity: 599 beds (current facility design capacity, cited from the TCJS facility needs analysis).
- Reported TCJS 12-month peak (2023–24): 608 inmates (Burns read from the commission’s facility needs analysis), and Burns said more recent internal reports show peaks above that number, including a reported October 2024 high of 653.
- Monthly peak examples Burns presented (January–July 2025 data he cited): January 2025 peak 607 (42 out of county); February 630 (25 out of county); March 637 (43 out of county); April 628 (50 out of county); May 604 (41 out of county); June 585; July 596.
- Paper-ready inmates: Burns said Potter County had 81 paper-ready inmates in one December 2024 snapshot; other comparable counties cited in his review showed widely varying counts (examples: Bowie County 58, Bastrop 3, Gregg 56).
- Timeline and cost examples: Burns said an expansion of the current jail would take about 2.5 years, while building a new facility would take about 4 years (roughly 15–18 months for design and procurement, plus ~30 months construction). Using recent projects as examples, Burns estimated a new jail in the 700-bed range could cost roughly $200–$230 million today (he cited a 776-bed Midland County project as a sizing example). He warned that construction inflation could dramatically increase future costs (he cited an 8% annual construction-cost escalation factor and a projection that waiting 25 years could push a current $200 million estimate into the billions).

What commissioners heard about causes and constraints

Burns emphasized that average daily population figures do not capture peak-day stress on the facility and that out-of-county housing is already occurring when the jail exceeds capacity. He also described a complex local factor: Amarillo’s municipal area straddles Potter and Randall counties, which Burns said complicates arrest and booking statistics because some arrests by Amarillo police may occur in either county. Burns and others at the meeting said they need clearer arrest-location data from Amarillo Police Department to parse how many arrests and resulting jail admissions are attributable to Potter versus Randall County.

Operational problems Burns flagged included aging mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems; obsolete security electronics and door control systems; limited mental-health housing within the existing jail design; and bottlenecks such as commissary and property-room capacities. "I see no reason to spend money trying to fix that building," Burns said of the current jail, describing it as "end of life" and saying he heard no positive feedback from staff during the facility tours.

Discussion and next steps

No formal vote or ordinance was recorded during the special meeting. Burns said the sheriff had notified the jail commission (TCJS) that the county is engaged and requesting an update to the facility needs analysis; Burns asked the sheriff, court staff and others to help gather additional records (Amarillo PD arrest locations and calls-for-service data, school-district reports, and other agency reports such as DEA/DPS trafficking assessments and TxDOT traffic counts) so the TCJS analysis and any county planning can be validated. Burns said his office will produce a fuller, evidence-based report once those data are assembled and validated with the jail commission.

Several commissioners and the presiding judge acknowledged the urgency of addressing peaks while an expanded or new facility is planned, noting the county will continue to incur out-of-county housing costs during any 2.5–4 year implementation period. The meeting closed with no formal decision; Burns and staff said they will return with a validated report and proposed scenarios for commissioner consideration.

Ending

The court received the presentation and directed staff and the consultant team to continue gathering and validating data with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and other agencies; no binding decision on expansion or construction was made at the Aug. 6 special meeting.