Jacksonville council members discuss next steps after 40-page jail facilities report; estimate of $1 billion cited as high-level benchmark

Council member Will Layne, newly appointed liaison for the future of the county correctional facilities, and a council member who chaired last year’s special committee on detention facilities met in a special notice session on Oct. 27, 2025, to review a 40-page facilities report and related appendices and to discuss next steps for evaluating a potential new detention center for Jacksonville.

The meeting focused on three immediate themes: identifying and mapping stakeholders who should be involved in planning, revisiting methodological options presented in the report and appendix, and ensuring facility design emphasizes behavioral and mental-health services. The chair of the special committee urged a deliberate review of multiple vendor presentations included in the report and suggested the city consider a staged procurement approach rather than accepting unsolicited proposals.

"I'm the newly appointed liaison for the future of the county correctional facilities," Will Layne said, describing his early-stage review of the materials and his intent to work with the sheriff’s office and the administration. "I appreciate Council President White appointing me that. And, I am still in the learning phase. ... I look forward to working with the sheriff's office and the administration and I think we've already heard some of the common themes right just to make sure that it's a transparent process that we have community input and then ultimately a financial structure that is, the best, most optimal solution for the city as well and, really most importantly, something…