Supervisors accept update on jail transformation; ask for timeline on facility assessment

The Public Safety and Justice Committee on March 13 received an update on Santa Clara County’s jail transformation process and asked county staff to provide a clearer timeline for the next steps at the full Board of Supervisors meeting on April 8.

Deputy County Executive Consuelo Hernandez told the committee the county is negotiating a contract with a vendor to perform a comprehensive facility condition assessment and expects to bring a recommendation to the full board on April 8. Hernandez said the county is shifting to a two‑phase community engagement approach that will first focus on “rebuilding trust with the community” and on transparency about what the technical assessment will examine, then broaden to a larger jail‑reform conversation.

Why it matters: Supervisors and sheriff’s office leaders said facility conditions at Main Jail North and Elmwood pose safety and operational challenges. The assessment will define what short‑term repairs and longer‑term planning are needed; committee members said they want concrete timelines so planning and potential construction do not stall.

Supervisor Lee pressed for firmer dates and asked that timeline options be included in the April report. “One thing I’ve learned in my life is that when there’s no deadlines, nothing really gets done,” Lee said during the discussion, urging staff to identify areas that can be expedited.

Sheriff Johnson described the urgency from an operations perspective, saying custody staff face “tremendous challenges in trying to provide the services” required for incarcerated people in facilities not designed for current needs. “Preferably it’d be great if we could have that behind us within the next 12 months so we can start moving forward and planning for what we need to do in the future,” the sheriff said.

County administration acknowledged the tension between moving quickly and ensuring meaningful public engagement. Officials said one objective of the contract negotiations is to build reporting junctures into the vendor’s timeline so the county can report progress to the committee and board as work proceeds.

What staff will do next: County staff told the committee they will present a draft work plan for the first phase of engagement by month’s end and provide a facility‑assessment timeline and an outline of how the technical work will connect to community engagement at the April 8 board meeting. The committee supported returning on April 8 to consider further direction after reviewing the draft schedule.

Vote and next steps: The committee voted to receive the report and wait until the April 8 board meeting for further direction. The March 13 committee discussion also included references to prior, decades‑long planning efforts and a canceled project that earlier boards had considered; several members emphasized the need to finish planning and to learn from other jurisdictions’ models.

Ending: County staff, the sheriff’s office and committee members agreed on the need to keep the process moving while improving transparency; the committee asked administration to return with a draft timeline and clearer milestones at the April 8 meeting for board consideration.