Fulton County commissioners approve plan to build special‑purpose facility and renovate Rice Street jail

Fulton County commissioners on Wednesday voted to proceed with a capital improvement plan that calls for construction of a new special‑purpose facility to house medically and mentally vulnerable inmates and a later, multi‑year renovation of the Rice Street Main Jail.

County project managers and consultants told the board the option they recommended — labeled Option 3 in the staff presentation — aims to pull the most pressing behavioral‑care capacity out of the aging Rice Street complex first and, once the special‑purpose building is online, start phased renovations of Rice Street.

Megan Kaczkowski of ACR Partners, the county’s program management team, said the team chose the sequence "because the estimated cost to address the deficiencies, just for the Rice Street Main Jail alone, greatly exceeds the maximum allowable budget" the county gave staff last year. She told the commission that the study set a consistent comparative bed figure of 3,200 beds to model the options but that the final design and bed count will be refined during programming.

Consultant Roger Lichtman described the cost tradeoffs the team weighed: building a larger special‑purpose facility first increases early capital needs but, he said, reduces long‑term outsourcing costs the county would otherwise pay while work proceeds. "The outsourcing can't be financed," Lichtman told the board, arguing that funds the county currently spends to house inmates in other counties are sunk operating costs that could be converted to capital spending on new beds.

County Chief Financial Officer Sharon Whitmore outlined financing assumptions the team used, saying the county had identified existing resources and potential future streams to help cover annual debt service. For the motioned option, she said, "we would need to increase the millage rate by 0.83, a little more than three‑quarters of a mill" if other offsets are not available; she also pointed to returned TAD (tax allocation district) increments and a projected reduction in a closed defined‑benefit pension contribution as future offsets.

Supporters and critics alike told the board the decision should be driven by data and community engagement. Deputy public defender Raiko Ward and other public defenders urged the board to fund staffing that would address case backlogs; community groups and advocates urged the board to slow the timetable and provide more public consultation. Speakers at the meeting repeatedly pressed for clarity on how the plan would affect staffing, how the county would provide interim housing during construction, and whether the Department of Justice would find the plan consistent with consent‑decree compliance.

After roughly three hours of staff briefing and discussion, the board adopted a motion to proceed with Option 3 — to begin programming for the special‑purpose building, refine design and cost estimates, and return to the board with a detailed plan — and to begin the next steps of vendor solicitation and community engagement.

The motion passed, with commissioners recording four votes in favor, one against and one abstention. The board directed staff to return to the commission with refined scope, schedule, and operating cost estimates and to coordinate stakeholder outreach and DOJ monitoring team updates as the programming phase begins.

What the vote covers and next steps

- Approved action: proceed with programming and planning for Option 3, which includes building a special‑purpose facility for behavioral care and phased renovation of Rice Street Main Jail. - Immediate next steps: programming to confirm space needs and bed counts; development of operating cost estimates; stakeholder engagement strategy; solicitation of design and construction teams (county indicated vendor solicitations would be issued in Q4 2025). - Financing snapshot (as presented): estimated annual debt service for the recommended option was presented as about $84.3 million; the county has $10 million in current budget resources and approximately $8.6 million in returned TAD increment currently available and modeled to help offset early debt service; a projected pension funding reduction beginning about 2033 was also cited as a potential long‑term offset. County staff emphasized timing and market risk would affect final structure.

Why this matters

Fulton County has been under intense public scrutiny for deaths and conditions in its jail facilities. The board’s choice shifts the county away from only patching Rice Street and toward creating a new facility designed for people with medical and behavioral health needs, then renovating the older facility. Advocates and legal observers told the board they will continue to press for transparent data on staffing plans, the sourcing of interim beds during construction, and whether the plan aligns with the DOJ consent‑decree requirements.

Speakers

- Steve Naraki, County strategy office (presentation lead) - Megan Kaczkowski, ACR Partners (program management/consultant) - Roger Lichtman, ACR/consultant (options summary) - Jackie Hadobas, ACR Partners (facility condition assessment) - Joe Davis, director, DREAM (county partner — presented with PMT) - Sharon Whitmore, Chief Financial Officer, Fulton County (financing overview)

Authorities cited

- County staff referenced the board’s July 2024 directive to limit near‑term options to a previously defined maximum budget envelope. No statute or ordinance was cited as the legal basis for the decision; the presentation focused on programmatic and financial options.

Actions

- Motion (summary): "Proceed with planning of Option 3, which includes construction of a special‑purpose building to serve vulnerable populations and offset the future need for outsourcing of inmates to out‑of‑county jail facilities and renovations at the Rice Street Main Jail." (Mover/second: not specified in transcript.) Outcome: approved. Vote tally recorded in the meeting: 4 yes, 1 no, 1 abstain.

Discussion vs. decision

- Discussion: staff presentations on facility condition assessments, comparative cost estimates, outsourcing risks, and financing options; public comment urging more transparency, more social‑service alternatives and attention to consent‑decree obligations. - Direction: staff were instructed to begin programming for the special‑purpose facility, refine cost and schedule estimates, solicit design and construction vendors, and carry out stakeholder engagement. - Decision: board approved proceeding with Option 3; the final construction approvals and bond issuance remain to be developed and will return to the board.

Clarifying details (as presented at the meeting)

- Comparative modeling used a working bed count of 3,200 to compare options; that number will be refined in programming. - Consultants showed Option 3 would complete an initial tranche of approximately 1,800 new beds within the first five years of the program and complete both new construction and Rice Street renovation within nine years in their baseline schedule. - Consultants and staff repeatedly flagged the cost and scarcity of outsourcing beds, and noted Fulton now spends tens of millions annually to house inmates outside the county — an operating cost the team modeled against capital spending.

Proper names

- ACR Partners (program management team), DREAM (county partner), Rice Street Main Jail, Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC), Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Sharon Whitmore (Fulton County CFO).

Provenance

- topicintro: {"block_id":"block_9357","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"We are before you today to provide an update and recommendation on the plan to move forward with the Fulton County Jail Capital Improvement Program.","reason_code":"topicintro"} - topicfinish: {"block_id":"block_11005","local_start":0,"local_end":90,"evidence_excerpt":"Upon favorable approval, we will begin our program activities for the special purpose facility...The team can take any questions.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}

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