Sheriff and consultants present case for new Liberty County jail; commissioners to reconvene jail committee

Sheriff William Bowman's leadership team and correctional-construction consultants presented a detailed case for replacing Liberty County's aging detention facility, and commissioners agreed to reconvene a jail committee to develop a timeline and procurement approach.

Jail administrator Major Sasha Cromwell said the existing facility's original portion is more than 30 years old and an addition is over 20 years old. She told the board the jail has limited medical beds (four), no dedicated space for programming or education, multiple open-dorm housing areas without adequate toilet/shower ratios, and small, outdated control and IT rooms that complicate operations and maintenance. Cromwell said the county is effectively serving as the community's largest mental-health holding facility: she estimated roughly 25 to 30 inmates at any time are in critical mental-health crisis and that up to 60% of the population has some diagnosed mental-health condition.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association needs-assessment (summarized at the meeting) recommended a much larger facility; the sheriff's office and consultants suggested a phased design sized to about 500'550 beds with shell space to expand to larger capacity if needed in future years. Garmung Construction representatives and prison-design partners explained construction-manager-at-risk (CMc) procurement as the preferred delivery approach, arguing it preserves owner control of design, provides a collaborative preconstruction phase and competitive subcontract bidding, and reduces the owner's risk compared with a design-build model for a project of this scope.

Commissioners asked about staffing implications, ongoing operating costs and whether the county could fund mental-health treatment outside the jail; presenters said a modern, more-efficient design can require fewer staff per bed than an older, spread-out facility, but the county should expect increased operating costs as capacity grows. Commissioners asked for a timeline and next steps; Major Cromwell and county staff recommended reconvening the board's jail committee to scope programming needs, refine bed counts and consider procurement (CMc) and financing options.

Why it matters: Commissioners face a large, multiyear capital decision that affects public safety, county budgets, and how the county handles mental-health and medical needs tied to the criminal-justice system. Replacing the jail would be a major, long-term county investment and would carry operating-cost implications.

Next step: Commissioners agreed to reconvene the jail committee and to work with staff to develop procurement and financing options for further board consideration.