Sheriff: parish to take possession of 27.3-acre Veterans Memorial Park site; seeks funds for central campus and new jail

The sheriff of Washington Parish said the parish will sign papers on Wednesday to take possession of 27.3 acres at Veterans Memorial Park and has submitted an initial capital request for architectural, engineering and site preparation work on the site. He cited $150,000 that he said Senator Beth Meiselle obtained for the purchase.

“Yes, we need a new jail in a new location, but most importantly, we need a centralized location in the parish,” the sheriff said, adding that he envisions relocating sheriff operations, the motor pool, a training facility and evidence storage to a single campus.

The sheriff said he had submitted a capital-allocation request for the first round of funding to cover architectural and engineering work and site-prep. He framed the project as both an operational improvement and a way to reduce east–west divisions in parish services, saying a central campus would produce philosophical and practical benefits for the parish.

He did not provide a full budget, timeline for construction, or final funding sources beyond the $150,000 he attributed to Senator Meiselle. The planned signing of papers was described as forthcoming; the speaker did not describe any formal parish vote approving the purchase during the remarks.

Next steps mentioned by the sheriff include completing the paperwork to take possession, pursuing the capital funding process for site design and prep, and integrating the campus with the sheriff office’s training and evidence-storage plans.