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Commissioners revive proposed jail plan, approve contacting private firm for assessment
Summary
Fall River County commissioners agreed to contact a jail-construction firm to perform an initial assessment of a proposed 35-bed jail site (54,000 sq ft parcel) and estimate costs to add 15 extra beds; floodplain questions and funding paths were discussed.
Fall River County commissioners moved to contact a private firm to perform an initial assessment and preliminary pricing for a proposed new jail on a county-owned parcel across the road from the courthouse.
A commissioner leading the discussion said staff has reviewed several potential sites and recommended focusing on the property across the road, which offers about 54,000 square feet for development. The commissioner said state-run elevation readings and a paid survey showed the parcel is about 6 feet above the county's 100-year floodplain, but that FEMA data on a 500-year floodplain are not available. "FEMA does not have any solid information on the 500 year floodplain," the commissioner said, adding that federal loan agencies may not treat the 500-year question as disqualifying.
Commissioners discussed the size and scope of a facility. County staff said a 35-bed facility would meet projected needs, with a cost option to add 15 beds (a 50-bed facility) to allow future expansion or to house out-of-county inmates. The group cited an example from Platte County, Wyo., where a 98-bed jail was built decades ago and funded by a temporary local tax at roughly $5 million at that time.
The commission also discussed reusing other county buildings in a configuration that could include court services and judges' chambers; one option would be to incorporate the current Equalization building into the plan. Commissioners asked for a firm, on-site assessment by a firm that had previously built jails in the region; staff identified a company out of Harrisburg that built a facility in Hughes County and suggested coordinating a visit with the upcoming sheriff's conference in April so the vendor could do an on-site review while in the area.
A motion to contact the company for an initial on-site assessment and an estimate for a 35-bed design (with pricing to show how much it would cost to expand to 50 beds) was moved, seconded and approved by unanimous vote. The commission directed staff to arrange the visit and to return with the vendor's initial assessment and any fee schedule for the preliminary work.
Commissioners also discussed potential funding paths, including federal programs and the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) for associated site work, and flagged legal questions about trading or selling other county properties that could affect site financing.
Next steps: staff will contact the company, arrange an on-site assessment, request preliminary plans/costs for both 35-bed and 50-bed options, and report back to the commission for budget and next-step deliberations.
