Marion County Council approves jail support building plan, moves to replace aging generator

Marion County Council members on the evening's agenda reviewed plans to build a support building at the county detention center and approved a motion to replace the facility's generator.

County officials, Sheriff Brown Wallace and Director Greg Floyd, told council the support building and related work are part of a multi-phase effort to correct long-standing deficiencies flagged by the South Carolina Department of Corrections and the fire marshal. Floyd said the county's inspections have reduced reported deficiencies from dozens several years ago to a small number that the support building and future housing expansion would address.

The support building is a design-build project awarded to Gilbert Construction, council was told. Officials said the S.C. Department of Corrections has approved the plans and the county building inspector has reviewed them; a building permit has been issued. County leaders said the project will not require an immediate appropriation because funds remain from a previously approved local-option sales tax allocation.

Why it matters: County officials said bringing the facility into compliance reduces legal and safety risks and lays groundwork for a later, larger housing addition. Council members were told the full housing expansion remains a major future expense—officials referenced an earlier estimate of roughly $18 million for the additional housing component.

What council approved and next steps: Council voted to move forward with replacing the detention center's generator. Officials described the existing generator as roughly 28 years old (installed about 1997, facility opened 1998), with repeated recent service calls costing roughly $3,000 each. Sheriff Wallace and others argued a modern, larger generator would power the entire facility during outages—kitchen freezers and other essential services would be supported, which is not now the case. Staff said the county has multiple funding sources available for this phase: the $5 million local-option sales-tax allocation for detention upgrades, which still has more than $2 million remaining; and a $2.5 million state appropriation secured earlier to help address jail deficiencies.

Officials also emphasized that replacing or rewiring the current electrical system inside the existing jail would be costly and disruptive and that the chosen approach is to install a new generator and a new electrical room that would feed both existing and new systems. Council members were inclined to proceed with both the support building and the generator replacement and discussed scheduling a ceremonial groundbreaking within a few weeks.

Cautions and future costs: Multiple speakers — including a council member serving on the state standards committee — warned the council not to "let its guard down," noting that the larger housing phase will likely require additional funding and long-term planning. The county said it will return with scheduling details for a groundbreaking and continue coordinating with the Department of Corrections and building inspectors.

Ending: Council approved the generator replacement by voice vote; staff will proceed with procurement steps described in the packet and coordinate the construction schedule and a public groundbreaking when dates are set.