Bradley County commission approves contract for enclosure of one justice-center pod, reallocates capital funds for locks

The Bradley County Commission voted unanimously to approve a resolution authorizing the county mayor to sign a contract to enclose the top of one pod at the Bradley County Justice Center, commissioners said during the meeting.

County Mayor said the project is already budgeted and has gone through the bid process and asked the commission to approve a resolution so the county can move forward with the work. “This money for the, fencing of 1 of the pods at the justice center is in the budget. It's already budgeted. It has gone through the bid process,” the mayor said.

Steve, county staff, described the purpose of the work as an enclosure on the upper deck of the women’s pod (referred to in the meeting as “H pod”), saying it is intended to stop detainees from urinating from the top level. “In the women's pod, which is h pod, we've had individuals in this 1 last week. They would take a leak from the from the top... we're actually copycatting something we've seen in Hamilton County is where they enclosed there... it's an enclosure from the top. And so if you know how the pods are set up, the whole upper deck will be enclosed, and, they can't take a leak from that upper deck,” Steve said.

Commissioners and the sheriff discussed funding and a broader plan to replace worn or hard-to-find locks across the facility. The mayor said the enclosure will be paid from a $100,000 capital allocation the county has available and that some of that allocation will also be used to buy replacement locks for doors throughout the jail. “It is art money,” the mayor said when asked whether the project drew from the county's ARC/ART-designated funds; later in the discussion the mayor described that a portion of capital funds set aside would be used to buy older-style locks the jail still needs and to stockpile spare locks.

The sheriff asked whether there is a timetable for a comprehensive lock replacement program; the mayor said there is not a firm timetable for replacing all exterior locks and that a full replacement could be substantially more expensive. “No. No. And we we can we can get in that. That's gonna be bigger money, of course,” the mayor said. The mayor said he would consider budgeting for broader lock replacement in next year’s budget process.

The commission approved the resolution authorizing the mayor to sign the contract; the roll call showed 14 votes in favor and none opposed.

The action authorizes the county to proceed with the enclosure as described; the commission did not adopt additional, detailed specifications during the meeting. The mayor and staff said the enclosure follows a design seen in other jurisdictions and is intended to reduce repair bills the county has already incurred after incidents in that pod.

The commission did not set a completion deadline during the meeting. Staff indicated some costs previously incurred from related incidents reached $36,000 on an earlier bill, which the mayor said factored into the decision to move forward with the enclosure and to buy spare locks.

Speakers who addressed this item included the County Mayor; Steve, county staff; the Sheriff; Commissioner Louis Alford (mover); and Commissioner Cindy Slater (second).