Coconino County approves steps to finance new jail medical unit; board backs $10 million bond plan

Coconino County supervisors voted to authorize legal agreements that allow the county’s Jail District to issue limited revenue bonds not to exceed $10 million to fund construction of a new medical housing unit and intake-area remodel at the Flagstaff detention facility. The board also adopted a parallel resolution as the Jail District Board of Directors to proceed with the debt issuance.

The sheriff’s office described the project as a response to evolving medical needs among people in custody, not a population-driven expansion. Sheriff staff and jail commanders told the board the jail’s current medical space is a six‑cell clinic that lacks recreation yard space and capacity for detox, psychiatric and ongoing medical care. The new facility would be a full housing unit with about 24 medical beds, separate detox and infirmary wings, on‑site medical offices, four safety cells and an enclosed medical recreation yard, the sheriff’s team said. The plan also includes a remodel of the…