Albany County approves $296,000 feasibility study for county jail repairs

Albany County legislators on May 11 authorized a $296,000 agreement with Labella Associates to conduct a facility conditions assessment and master plan for the Albany County Correctional Facility, the county’s elected sheriff said.

The Sheriff told the Legislature the jail dates to 1932, has thick masonry walls and has suffered recent failures that have required emergency repairs. “We lost a good chunk of the wall,” the Sheriff said, adding that cumulative emergency work has brought repair spending “up to about a half a million.” He said the Labella proposal — $296,000 for a feasibility study — would outline options that range from tier-by-tier renovation to full replacement, which he estimated could cost “three‑quarters of a billion.”

Why it matters: the study is intended to identify affordable, staged work and to highlight priorities for staff safety and inmate oversight. The Sheriff emphasized protecting correction officers — both through structural changes such as replacing bars with glass panels and by designing “tiers that would be able to seclude people but not seclude people,” a comment he framed around limits imposed by recent segregation-focused legislation referred to in the meeting as “halt” legislation.

Legislators questioned what the study would include and whether Labella would perform construction. The Sheriff said the firm would provide engineering analysis and cost options but would not act as the construction contractor: “they're not contractors so they're going to give us ideas,” he said. He recommended getting options before committing to large-scale capital work.

Several legislators expressed caution about cost escalation and about balancing facility upgrades with operational needs. One legislator noted concerns about visitor experience and heating/air conditioning for certain parts of the facility; another emphasized the workload of more than 300 correction officers at the facility and said staff also deserve basic environmental improvements.

The motion to authorize Labella’s feasibility study was made by Gil, seconded by Best, and called for approval of the agreement and any necessary budget amendment. The motion was called to a vote; no opposition was recorded in the available transcript.

What’s next: the feasibility study will produce recommendations and cost estimates; if the Legislature chooses to proceed with capital projects, additional approvals and procurement steps will be required.