Finney County moves forward on new standalone jail and remodel of Law Enforcement Center

Finney County commissioners on Dec. 16 accepted a report that recommends building a new standalone jail and later remodeling the existing Law Enforcement Center, and they authorized the county—s architect to prepare a cost estimate and design documents to inform a possible bond or sales-tax referendum.

The county heard a multi-part presentation from architect Sean Harding, senior associate with a Kansas-based architecture firm, who described long-standing water damage and design shortcomings created by locating inmate housing above critical administrative, mechanical and IT spaces. "The biggest issue facing Finney County LAC is the housing is situated above critical spaces," Harding told commissioners. He recommended a new one-story jail on a greenfield site as the long-term solution and outlined a timeline culminating with a potential referendum in November 2025 and construction completion targeted for late 2029 under the firm—s preliminary schedule.

County building maintenance staff and public-safety leaders described ongoing problems. Kyle Joyce, building maintenance, said the county deals with recurring roof and interior water flows that are becoming harder to repair because parts are obsolete. Steve Martinez, undersheriff for the Finney County Sheriff—s Office, said staff arrive at work uncertain where leaks or odor issues will appear. "We go in there not knowing if what leaks we're gonna find," Martinez said.

Garden City Police Chief Courtney Pruitt said the building—s condition affects staff and public access. "I'm embarrassed, flat out. I don't like to invite people to the LEC for meetings or anything like that because of the smell and because of what is coming from the ceilings," she said, adding that splitting the jail from the LEC is a preferred long-term approach.

Harding presented three scenarios developed with Justice Planners and HMN Architects and recommended a program around a roughly 200-bed, single-level jail with modern water-management systems, classification pods and space for behavioral-health and medical isolation. He said an optimal new-jail site would be roughly 5 to 10 acres and noted modular or mobile units could be used during construction to reduce out-of-county housing costs.

Commissioners discussed sequencing: building a new jail first, moving inmates into it, then beginning the LEC remodel, which Harding estimated could take about 10–18 months once inmates are relocated. County Administrator Robert (last name not specified in the record) and others also discussed funding mechanisms. County counsel explained the county—s two main options: a sales-tax referendum (which requires legislative authorization) or use of the public building commission; both would be necessary because the project exceeds the county—s typical bonding capacity.

After the presentation the commission voted to accept Harding—s report and then voted to direct him to prepare an estimate of documentation and design costs to produce plans and specifications. The motions passed by voice vote; the record shows the board adopted the report and authorized the estimate but no roll-call tallies were provided.

The county—s next steps include site selection, refining conceptual plans and producing a project budget and ballot language for the November 2025 referendum window should the commission choose that path. Harding cautioned the schedule is preliminary and will be refined. The commission asked for the design-cost estimate to be returned as soon as possible to help determine whether to begin design prior to voter approval.