St. Croix County supervisors back moving jail project planning to 2028 amid debate over size and cost

A majority of St. Croix County supervisors signaled they want to move forward with planning for a $46 million jail expansion but to delay final bonding until 2028, officials said at the July 9 Committee of the Whole meeting.

County Administrator Ken Witt framed three financing options and said the jail and emergency communications projects together total about $70 million. "If you added a $70,000,000 debt, our annual payments would go up to $15,000,000," Witt said, and translated that to an estimated levy change that would cost the average $400,000 home about $110 per year.

Sheriff Knudson presented the jail master plan and emphasized that the project is an expansion of the existing facility rather than a replacement. "When we talk about this jail project, we start with it being an expansion. There's not a new jail," the sheriff said, citing long lead times and operational constraints in the 1993 building.

Officials and consultants described three core goals for the work: add receiving cells and a reconfigured special‑housing area to meet Department of Corrections classification standards (DOC 350), reduce inmate movements that create safety risks, and expand medical and intake areas. Brad Hoover, a DOC detention specialist, said state rules and evolving inmate needs have made it harder for counties to meet classification and double‑celling standards and that the DOC recommends receiving cells equal roughly 10% of total capacity.

Supervisors pressed for more localized demographic analysis before finalizing scope. "I don't want to have to explain a tax increase without also addressing an ongoing problem that we've had for more than a decade," Supervisor Rice said, asking that projections be refreshed to reflect more recent county population data.

The cost and timing of an extra housing pod — roughly $10 million of the $46 million total — drew the most disagreement. Staff said the pod would add long‑term capacity and improve separation of classifications; some supervisors said the county could meet projected needs without the pod and that building the pod later could cost more. "If we added special housing and receiving, we would add 52 beds...we would substantially meet the needs well into even the peak numbers," one supervisor said.

On procedure, Witt said he prefers a single bond issue that would authorize up to $70 million and give staff flexibility; that initial authorizing resolution requires a three‑quarters vote, while later bond sales require a majority. He recommended delaying the bond sale to 2028 to benefit from declining debt service and to give staff time to refine scope and costs.

Using the county's paddle straw‑poll system, supervisors indicated unanimous support that the county needs to act on the jail project and moved in discussion toward 2028 for bond timing. Witt later reported a straw count on the pod question of roughly 14 in favor of including the extra pod and 4 opposed; he said he would move the $46 million project to 2028 on the draft schedule to allow more time for review.

Next steps: staff will return with updated projections, schematic costs and a formal resolution for administration and then the full board; supervisors also requested a joint HHS/CJCC presentation on Chapter 51 civil‑detention processes to clarify how mental‑health placements intersect with jail operations.

Why it matters: The project addresses compliance with state classification standards and persistent operational constraints at the 1993 facility. Funding and timing choices will affect the county levy and how the county sequences other capital work.