Commissioners review Barnett property plan for new jail; courts would require additional Holder strip or alternative site

County commissioners on Feb. 6 heard project consultants lay out options for a new county jail and courtroom complex centered on the Barnett property and discussed whether the county should seek a roughly 90‑foot strip of adjacent Holder land to accommodate courts and parking.

The presentation, led by Jim Langford, the project architect/consultant, summarized two years of site review and program development and said the Barnett parcel can hold “that 40 something bed” jail the county previously programmed but that courtroom space and most of the parking needs are site‑specific and would likely depend on acquiring the Holder strip or finding other land or design approaches.

Langford said the project has completed the program phase and that most future design work will be site‑specific: "So the short of it is is we can get that 40 something bed to sheriff's office with his support on that site, we believe." He and members of the design team described a layout that separates public and secure circulation for court transfers and showed diagrammatic parking plans that assume the county can secure adjacent parcels.

Why this matters: Commissioners and members of the public stressed that the county…