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Detention center repairs underway; county staff flag aging infrastructure and capacity limits
Summary
Assistant County Administrator John Robinson briefed the committee on repairs at the Beaufort County Detention Center, citing plumbing and drainage failures, emergency procurement for repairs, an average daily population of about 203 (maximum 255), and planning discussions about replacement versus renovation.
Assistant County Administrator John Robinson gave an extended update on the detention center following a council tour earlier in the day. He said the center meets or exceeds state minimum standards but faces deferred maintenance and capacity constraints: maximum population is 255 and the average daily population when the presentation was prepared was about 203, with roughly 22 admissions or releases each day.
Robinson detailed active projects addressing drainage, exterior stucco and interior renovations including conversion of an out-of-service gym into housing space, corrections officer muster-room and locker-room upgrades, roof repair and sprinkler/plumbing maintenance. He described significant cast-iron plumbing degradation requiring tunneling under concrete and replacement with schedule-40 PVC in some areas, and he explained why repairs often reveal additional failures nearby. He told the committee the center is 33 years old and that replacement planning is underway, noting site constraints on the current 12-acre complex and that a regional multi-county detention center could create prohibitive transport times for court and law-enforcement logistics.
Robinson also addressed recent media reports about construction chemicals, saying staff used diluted household bleach to disinfect tile and explicitly denying use of muriatic acid during tile removal: "Not true... There's no muriatic acid used in this process at all." He described shower-pan removal and replacement, air-handling isolation between housing units, and steps taken to limit inmate exposure during active work. Committee members asked about mental-health needs, long pretrial detention timelines (some inmates waiting years for court), coordination with Beaufort Memorial Hospital for on-site mental-health counseling, and the county's near-term capital planning for replacement or major renovation. The committee did not vote on any detention-center action at the meeting.
