Hood County reviews $20.5 million plan to add jail beds as out‑of‑county costs top $2 million a year

Hood County commissioners on Feb. 7 reviewed a new plan to add jail capacity — a 161‑bed expansion with a 32‑bed alternate — that the county’s consultant priced at roughly $20.46 million. The sheriff and county staff told the workshop they now send dozens of inmates daily to other counties and that the county spent roughly $1,518,527.50 on out‑of‑county housing in FY2024 plus about $466,006.18 in transport costs, figures the sheriff said push total FY24 outlays above $2 million.

The proposal, presented by Gary Adams, is new construction attached to the north side of the existing facility and does not include remodeling the current jail. Adams said the yellow area on his drawings is the new housing; the package includes separate cells to meet jail‑commission classification rules, an expanded laundry and new equipment for the kitchen. Adams described a timeline in which a May bond approval could move the project to design and permitting, with bidding by November and about 14 months of construction thereafter.

Why it matters

Sheriff Deeds told the court that the county is routinely short of local beds: "we got 8 illegal aliens in the jail right now" he said, describing ICE holds among the population, and that daily out‑of‑county placements often run about 50 to 55 inmates. He urged the court to consider local capacity to reduce transport costs, operational burden on deputies and the county’s rising payments to neighboring jails.

Costs and financial tradeoffs

County staff and speakers walked through contrasting figures. A staff number for FY24 out‑of‑county housing was $1,518,527.50; transport (fuel, maintenance, personnel) was cited as approximately $466,006.18. One participant summarized those two lines as producing a FY24 total in excess of $2 million. Supporters of the project argued that shifting that annual outflow back to Hood County could justify bond financing, while skeptics and several commissioners said a fuller multi‑year financial analysis is needed before asking voters to fund a bond.

Alternatives and court processing

Several commissioners and the district judge described operational options to reduce jail population pressure, including extra dockets, a cross‑assignment order to move lower‑level felonies to county court at law and adding temporary judicial resources. Judge Buffkin (who addressed the court) said he has added status and trial dockets and used a cross‑assignment order to increase case dispositions; he warned, however, that if defendants "need to be in jail, they're going to be in jail," and that court processing improvements alone do not eliminate the need for secure capacity when public safety requires detention.

Transparency, timing and public response

Multiple public commenters and at least one commissioner objected to the meeting’s schedule and the short notice for drawings provided the same morning, arguing the court should produce a full financial business case and public outreach before putting another bond to voters three months after a prior defeat. Nate Criswell told the court the previous bond had been rejected by voters and urged the commissioners to "search for alternatives." Others urged postponing any election to November to increase turnout and provide more time for analysis.

Facility condition and urgency

Commissioners and staff also described maintenance problems in the existing jail that raise urgency: leaking showers and at least two collapsed sewer lines were reported, and the court discussed the operational risk if those systems fail and the jail must be shut temporarily for repairs.

What’s next

No formal action or vote was taken at the workshop. Commissioners requested additional analysis, including statewide capacity reports and a complete financial comparison of continuing to house inmates out‑of‑county versus building local capacity. The chair said the new schematic delivered that morning was the basis for the discussion and indicated follow‑up workshops and analysis before any final decision about placing a bond on a ballot.