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Riley County authorizes RCPD to apply for roughly $31.7 million DOJ grant to modernize and expand jail
Summary
Deputy RCPD director Aaron Friedline told commissioners the Department of Justice opportunity could fund a shovel-ready modernization and an increase of about 50 jail beds; the board voted to allow the department to submit an application.
Riley County commissioners on July 13 voted to let the Riley County Police Department pursue a Department of Justice grant that, if awarded, would fund construction, modernization and technology upgrades for the countys law enforcement and detention facilities.
Aaron Friedline, deputy director of the Raleigh (transcript) County Police Department, told the board the application could bring "31,000,000 in federal investment into Raleigh County with 0 cost to the local taxpayer" and described a shovel-ready plan developed with a local architect. Friedline later gave a more precise funding request of $31,700,000 for construction, modernization and related phases.
Friedline said the proposal would expand detention capacity by roughly 50 beds (from about 129 to about 179) and bring the facility up to federal detention standards that could allow some federal partners to be housed locally and for federal offices to be accommodated within renovated spaces. "This means no county match, no new tax burden, and no reallocating funds from current priorities," he said while urging the board to permit the application.
Commissioners pressed staff on details including whether federal partners would take space or require the county to reassign local offices, and on what the grant would cover in terms of IT, furniture and specialized equipment. Friedline said many of those items are eligible under the construction and technology phases but that the county might still pursue additional appropriations for final build-out.
After questions about capacity, parking and site constraints, a commissioner moved and a second carried to allow RCPD to apply for the grant; the motion passed by voice vote and the paperwork was signed.
What happens next: RCPD will complete and file the grant application by the program deadline. If the county proceeds to award, the next steps would include final architectural adjustments, bid lettings and coordination on federal partner space and operations.
