Task force debates trade-offs between 480-bed jail scenarios and a co‑located behavioral care center

The Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force spent much of its March 16 meeting weighing how to balance jail capacity, program space and a promised behavioral care center as consultants refine designs and city–county funding choices.

Co-chair Peter opened the session by asking staff to summarize where planning stands and next steps. Riley Sweeney of the county executive’s office invited the public to a March 19 community workshop and said the project is in a “validation phase” where public input will inform critical decisions.

Kayla and the design‑build team presented four scenarios that used 480 beds as a fixed planning assumption, with capital estimates ranging from about $170 million to more than $300 million depending on features, treatment space and operational design. Kayla said staff are working to refine a lower‑cost scenario that reserves funding for a behavioral care center; consultants will deliver a jail capacity analysis and a behavioral health analysis by the end of March.

Sheriff Tanksley said the jail and an out‑of‑custody behavioral care center should be treated as separate planning…