Commissioners demand clearer bed-count data as jail renovation plans move forward

Commissioners pressed county staff and the sheriff’s deputies for clearer, sourced bed-count figures as the county advances plans to renovate the detention center.

Division Chief Bill Dunning said the county’s usable-bed figure accounts for modules that are currently closed for safety or renovation and an 80% operational target: “The usable bed count factors in the fact that a module is going to be closed during renovation,” he said, explaining why the currently cited usable count is near 1,084 while the historic total-capacity figure often referenced is 1,620.

Deputy director Lindseay Lowry and the sheriff’s team explained that the third floor — four dormitories built but never fully outfitted — contributes to large differences between counted capacity and realistically usable beds. Commissioners noted ADA compliance and programming (medical and mental-health space) will reduce bed density in some modules, complicating direct comparisons between past and projected numbers.

Commissioners asked staff to share the updated bed-study (delivered to staff days earlier) with the sheriff and to return for a dedicated study session focused only on bed definitions, classification levels and how programming choices affect both usable capacity and compliance. The board requested module-level pricing and clearer documentation of the provenance for each cited bed- and cost-number before making further resource commitments.

Next steps: staff will circulate the bed-study to commissioners and the sheriff’s office immediately, schedule a focused follow-up study session, and price renovation work by module so the board can reconcile capacity projections with programming and ADA requirements.