Rutherford County committee backs buying South Church site for new justice center; 1 commissioner objects

Bart Klein, of Klein Associates, told the Rutherford County Property Management Committee that the county's existing jail campus is operating far beyond its design capacity and faces substantial maintenance and regulatory challenges.

Klein, who said his team has worked on county detention projects for years, told commissioners the original jail was designed to hold 484 inmates but now houses roughly 1,500 and that aging systems and temporary outbuildings present safety and operational risks. "You're going to be seeing descertification at some point," Klein said, warning of life-safety and Tennessee Correctional Institution (TCI) compliance issues if the county does not act.

Why it matters: Commissioners must decide whether to renovate and expand the current Salem Road campus (a vertical tower approach) or build a new horizontal facility adjacent to the county's correctional work center. Klein told the committee the two options have very different up-front and life-cycle costs and operational implications.

Klein said renovating the existing site would require substantial earthwork to raise portions of the campus above the 100-year floodplain (an estimated 80,000—to 115,000 cubic yards) and roughly $84 million in identified deferred maintenance, including about $12 million to replace detention locks and control systems. By contrast, a new horizontal facility co-located with the work center could reduce long-term operating costs because services such as medical, food and laundry could be consolidated: Klein estimated potential operational savings of 10—to 15% on those services, which he projected could translate into $90—to $150 million in savings over a 50-year horizon.

On size and cost, Klein presented an early program that included about 480,000 square feet for a 1,500-bed jail, 60,000 square feet for sheriff administration and 66,000 square feet for training and operations. He offered construction benchmarks of roughly $600 per square foot for a horizontal facility and about $700 per square foot for a tower, and advised commissioners to carry a contingency of roughly $22—to $23 million plus allowance for inflation.

Commission discussion and legal questions centered on timing and authority. Commissioners asked whether the current body must commit funds or whether the next commission will finalize bed counts, design and construction contracts. County staff and the mayor said the immediate request was solely to allow further site investigation and, if so directed, to forward a positive budget recommendation for acquisition of the South Church Street property; larger design and appropriation decisions would come later. County counsel and staff also explained that property acquisition could proceed by purchase or ultimately by condemnation and described the general timeline for an eminent-domain action (the taking may be contested in court, which can extend valuation timelines even if possession proceeds sooner).

A formal motion by Commissioner Phillips asked the committee to forward a positive recommendation to the budget committee to acquire the South Church Street property for an adult detention center and sheriff administration facility. The motion passed on roll call: Commissioner Dodd, yes; Commissioner Davidson, yes; Commissioner Phillips, yes; Commissioner Irvin, no; Commissioner Anthony Johnson, yes; Chairman McAdoo, yes.

What the vote does and does not do: The committee's vote moves a recommendation to the budget process and clears the way for further site investigations and potential acquisition activities. It does not finalize design choices, the ultimate bed count, a construction contract or a final condemnation decision. Those items were described as matters for future action by the full commission and subsequent administrations.

Next steps: Staff and consultants will complete pending projections and program verification (DLR's final analysis was expected shortly after this meeting), complete wetland and geotechnical studies on the proposed site, and prepare materials for the full commission meeting. The committee's positive recommendation means the county may be asked at a future full-commission meeting to authorize purchase or pursue other acquisition avenues for the South Church parcel.

"We're at a fork in the road," Klein said. "Do you want to stay and commit to the vertical expansion, or do you want to go to a horizontal solution that gives you more long-term operational flexibility?"

Ending: The committee's recommendation advances the county toward site acquisition and the next phase of planning; final design, financing and construction timing were left to the next decision-making steps and will depend on completed program verification, budget allocations and any legal actions related to property acquisition.