FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County's justices of the peace on Tuesday backed a pair of ordinances spending American Rescue Plan Act funds on a $20 million jail expansion project.
The Quorum Court's Finance & Budget Committee sent ordinances to the full Quorum Court that would appropriate $10 million in federal covid relief funds for the expansion and transfer $8.8 million from one budget line to another for use on the project.
The committee voted 6-1 in favor of the ordinances, with Shawndra Washington, justice of the peace for District 8, voting no on both. The Quorum Court will consider the ordinances on Dec. 15.
The justices of the peace briefly discussed alternatives to the expansion. Public comment was unanimously opposed to the project.
"We know we can decrease the population because we did that during covid," Washington said. "I would like to see us exhaust all the other options."
Members of the public stressed that voters had defeated a jail expansion plan, backed by a temporary increase in the sales tax, at the Nov. 8 general election. They asked that the justices of the peace respect that vote as a statement that the public does not want a bigger jail.
"To have the Quorum Court go against the will of the people in just a few weeks looks very bad," Gladys Tiffany told the committee. "People are serious that they don't want to see a jail expansion happen."
Beth Coger, justice of the peace-elect for District 9, said the county should follow the recommendations of a study done by the National Center for State Courts, authorized by the Quorum Court in 2019, that identified alternatives to building more jail space.
Sean Simons, justice of the peace for District 3, said covid and the problem of jail overcrowding justify the county exploring both avenues -- expansion to reduce the risk of the virus spreading among the detainees and expanding pretrial services to control the jail population.
"I don't think this is a 'this-or-that' situation," Simons said. "It's going to take both pretrial services and additional space."
The county authorized design work on a $20 million covid-related project beginning in 2021 but put the idea on the back burner while pursuing a much larger plan to add jail space and space to the juvenile justice system. Those projects would have been paid for by a bond issue with the bonds paid by a temporary 0.25% sales tax increase.
Nearly 59% of voters rejected the jail plan, while 54% said no to the juvenile justice system proposal on Nov. 8, according to official results.
The Quorum Court in August 2021 approved $250,000 in American Rescue Plan money for preliminary architectural and engineering work on an expansion meant to enhance the facility's ability to handle detainees during the pandemic.
At that time, according to the sheriff's office, 11 separate 24-person blocks were being used to manage detainees in different stages of quarantine. The justices of the peace in May authorized another $1 million to complete the architectural and engineering work.
The expansion plan would add about 230 beds to the jail in medium-security additions, according to information presented to justices of the peace. There wouldn't be a full jail pod built in this proposal.
The largest single part of the plan is a 130-bed addition for women, adding 14,000 to 15,000 square feet at a cost of about $5 million to $6 million. Another large expansion would add 100 beds for men in about 12,000 square feet for $4 million to $5 million.
Expanding the jail intake area would cost another $2.5 million to $3 million, and expanding the medical space at the jail would cost $750,000 to $1 million.
The other parts of the expansion include space for jail administration, the courtroom at the jail and storage.
The current estimated cost of the project, including a 10% "covid contingency," is $19.8 million, according to information from the sheriff's office. That includes the $1 million already spent on design work. The covid contingency portion of the estimated cost would be for addressing any covid-related cost issues, such as supply chain problems or an outbreak of covid in the jail.
What’s next
The Washington County Quorum Court will consider the jail expansion project when the justices of the peace have their regular monthly meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 15 in the Quorum Court meeting room in the County Courthouse, 280 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville.
Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette