Tri‑county panel approves feasibility study on adding Chowan County to Bertie‑Martin Regional Jail

Windsor, N.C. — Bertie, Chowan and Martin County leaders and the Bertie‑Martin Regional Jail (BMRJ) Commission voted on March 28 to proceed with a feasibility study to evaluate whether Chowan County should join the Bertie‑Martin Regional Jail partnership.

The study will be a planning, design and engineering analysis to assess whether BMRJ can accommodate Chowan County inmates and operations, and to identify options ranging from renovation to expansion or other arrangements. BMRJ Commission Chair and Martin County Vice‑Chair Dempsey Bond, Jr. opened the discussion, saying the meeting’s purpose was to consider Chowan’s October 2018 request and move to a qualifications‑based consultant selection: "the Boards did not need to get into all of the 'what‑if' scenarios tonight, that those items would be identified and reviewed in the study," he said.

Chowan County Manager Kevin Howard told the joint meeting the county’s jail is "at a crossroads" and that Chowan sees renovation, building a new facility or joining another jail as the primary options; Howard said the county favored pursuing inclusion in BMRJ rather than justifying a new local facility. Chowan County Sheriff Dwayne Goodwin and Chief Deputy Andy Bunch described the facility and operations: the current detention facility opened in 1979; the transcript lists capacity as 23 beds with an average daily census of 31.57 males and 3.30 females (females were housed in Pasquotank County), nine full‑time and four part‑time employees, a medical services contract with Southern Health Partners and mental‑health services through Correctional Behavioral Health, and a meal contract with Bertie Correctional (recorded at $2.00 per regular meal and $2.60 for special‑diet meals). The transcript records the jail’s 2018‑19 operating budget as $749,171 and 2017‑18 expenditures at $862,484, attributed to higher medical expenses.

Bertie County Commissioner Bazemore (surname used in the transcript) moved that the three counties proceed with the feasibility study; Bertie County Commissioner Ron Wesson seconded the motion, which the meeting record states "PASSED." County managers clarified that the RFQ process produced two proposals — from Moseley Architects and Hemphill Randel Associates — and that the managers would negotiate study cost after a qualifications‑based selection. The managers and commissioners said any contract price must still be approved by each county’s Board of Commissioners and by the BMRJ Commission before a consultant is engaged.

Bertie County officials asked whether the study cost would be split three ways; managers said cost allocation would be decided during the contracting phase but noted Chowan and Martin had already pledged by resolution to share costs. Martin County Commissioner Ronnie Smith urged a regional approach, noting there are only three regional jails in the state and that regionalization can open funding opportunities.

Next steps described in the meeting record include interviews of the two respondent firms by the BMRJ Commission with representatives from Chowan County participating in the process and subsequent contract approval by each board. The transcript does not record a dollar amount for the study cost or a vote tally by named commissioners.

The meeting ended with motions to adjourn approved unanimously; Martin County’s adjournment motion, made by Commissioner Elmo "Butch" Lilley and seconded by Commissioner Ronnie Smith, recorded adjournment at 6:53 p.m.

Points of note from the transcript: the RFQ was due Jan. 15 and produced two proposals; detailed capacity and budget numbers for Chowan County’s jail were provided by Sheriff Goodwin and Chief Deputy Bunch; managers emphasized that no financial commitment is final until a contract price is negotiated and each board approves it.