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Richland County ad hoc committee reviews $40 million jail tower, renovations and security upgrades
Summary
At a committee meeting, Administrator Brown outlined ongoing renovations across housing units at the Alvin S. Glen Detention Center, plans for a bond-funded $40 million tower, camera and alarm upgrades, and a response to social-media videos about conditions and meals.
Chair opened the Richland County Detention Center ad hoc committee meeting and asked Administrator Brown to present facility updates, including a response to social-media videos about conditions.
Administrator Brown, the detention center administrator, said multiple housing-unit renovation phases are complete and that funding for each renovation is documented in committee packets. "You will see on your screen, housing unit... that is 100% complete," Brown said, and he described stainless-steel water fixtures and a new water-management system installed to reduce plumbing outages and improve security.
Brown said additional security work includes a facility-wide camera project and an upgraded alarm system; he said funding is in place and design and installation are under way. He described a redesigned visitation area intended to keep attorneys and detainees out of active housing units, improving privacy and safety for attorney-client visits.
On the larger expansion, Brown said the county has allocated roughly $40,000,000 for a new jail tower, with design and build-out expected to span more than a year and an estimated completion in 2029. When Committee member Weaver asked whether the $40 million had already been approved by full council and how it would be financed, Brown replied, "Yes, sir. It has," and said the financing would be a bond.
Brown addressed social-media videos that showed open-bay dorms and claimed crowding and poor meals, saying those dorms were already scheduled for renovation as phase 1. "The information that you maybe have seen on social media is not different from information that you have seen when you have visited the detention center," Brown said, adding that phase 1 (Alpha–Foxtrot) is roughly 45% complete. He described the meals shown in a video as including a vegetable, bread, meat and starch and said the meals meet required caloric intake for detainees.
Brown also explained contraband rules in the facility (using tissue as an example) to provide context for apparent discrepancies in videos: a single roll of tissue is not contraband, he said, but quantities can be restricted if used to exert control.
The committee discussed the renovation timeline, remaining units, and the bond financing; no vote on capital authorization occurred at the meeting (Brown said full council had already approved funding). The committee adjourned after concluding the updates.
The committee packet and detention-center reports were cited as the sources for the project lists, budgets, and progress figures Brown presented. The next procedural step is design and procurement work for the tower and continuing renovation phases; Brown said staff will return with updates.
