Jacksonville officials outline 11‑month plan to identify sites for new Duval County jail

City officials and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office briefed the City Council on March 10 on an early planning phase for a proposed new Duval County jail, saying consultants will complete a needs assessment, operational requirements and three candidate site layouts within roughly a year.

Director Kevin G of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and a procurement representative, Mr. Weinstein, told the council that consultant CGL will deliver seven discrete action items, including a project roadmap, a 30‑year population projection in five‑year increments, a detailed operational space program and a final recommendations report. Weinstein said the consultant engagement was competitively procured: “we got seven proposals … the proposals were scored … the top three were interviewed,” and the selected team reduced an initial proposal of about $1.2 million to “a little over $700,000” during contract negotiations.

Councilman Lanen, the council liaison on the effort, said the funding for the consulting engagement will come from savings in the current year’s debt expense rather than by reducing operating budgets for JSO or other departments. “It’s with the savings from the current year debt expense,” he said.

Officials emphasized the limits of the current work: the contract will identify needs, estimate facility size and provide initial, site‑specific layouts on up to three candidate sites. Weinstein and Director G said the engagement does not commit the city to any design, financing or construction beyond the consulting phase. Director G described public engagement as part of the schedule: the team will hold two public listening sessions and meet with stakeholders including the state attorney’s office, courts, mental‑health and medical providers, and educational and correctional partners.

Council members pressed for early inclusion of stakeholders they considered essential. Council Member Boland asked that public defenders, the clerk of court, medical providers and social‑services partners be part of the stakeholder process; Director G responded that the listed organizations would be included. Dr. Salem and others asked whether juvenile facilities and misdemeanor facilities could eventually be co‑located; officials said the three‑site concept is intended to preserve future flexibility to consolidate corrections functions on a single campus if that path is chosen.

What happens next: staff and the selected consultant will hold public meetings and prepare the draft deliverables over the coming months. Council members were told a formal presentation will return to the council after the consultant completes its final recommendations.

Sources: Presentation by Director Kevin G (JSO), Mr. Weinstein (procurement/COO) and statements from Council liaison Councilman Lanen during the March 10 council meeting.