Orange County NC Website
7 <br /> 1 Commissioner Dorosin said that part of this description will have Steve Allan talking to <br /> 2 the same people Frank Clifton refers to as not being experts. <br /> 3 <br /> 4 Commissioner Dorosin said he does not want another study like the library study plan <br /> 5 that was just seen. He wants to see some direct correlation in the results of the report and how <br /> 6 the jail will be designed. He said if this is the case he would like this to be laid out more clearly <br /> 7 in the prospectus. <br /> 8 Frank Clifton said the issue is that jails aren't built that often and $30m is a substantial <br /> 9 investment. He said that he can't tell the Board that the study will save them a dollar in the <br /> 10 future; but he can say that this report will give a basis for the design of the jail to incorporate <br /> 11 savings over the life of the facility. <br /> 12 Michael Talbert said a lot of court information is kept, but this does not tell how <br /> 13 effectively the programs are working. He said that this is part of what the consultant will look at. <br /> 14 He said that this is a starting point; and moving forward the plan will be refined, and numbers <br /> 15 may change. He said the reality is that there is overcrowding on a daily basis in the current jail <br /> 16 and this cannot continue. He said that expanding or making renovations to the existing jail is <br /> 17 not an option. He said this is a good site and a good starting point. <br /> 18 Chair Jacobs said when this topic first came up, he suggested a group modeled after <br /> 19 the Emergency Services work group. He said this group had both stakeholders and County <br /> 20 Commissioners involved. He feels that the explicit purpose should be to address whether the <br /> 21 County needs the proposed jail capacity. He said the sheriff takes as many federal prisoners <br /> 22 as possible to help defray the cost of his budget. He said that if there are not as many federal <br /> 23 prisoners being taken, or if the federal policies change and fewer prisoners come, then the <br /> 24 facility will have been vastly overbuilt. <br /> 25 Chair Jacobs would like a more interactive discussion among professionals, rather than <br /> 26 one consultant talking to everyone, similar to the Emergency Services work group. <br /> 27 Chair Jacobs discussed a meeting that included a speaker who was a sheriff from <br /> 28 Colorado. The speaker reduced his jail population using alternative sentencing and diversion <br /> 29 programs with community support. <br /> 30 Steve Allan said that the interactive work group is listed as item 6 on the scope of <br /> 31 services. <br /> 32 Chair Jacobs said this does not specify who will be the participating stakeholders; this <br /> 33 only lists who will be interviewed. <br /> 34 Michael Talbert said if the Board would like to follow the model of Emergency Services <br /> 35 then a work group will need to be appointed now. Then the process will begin now, and the <br /> 36 consultant will be used only after the group decides what should be looked at. He said this is <br /> 37 strictly a Commissioner call. <br /> 38 Commissioner Gordon said she would like to reinforce what Commissioner Dorosin said. <br /> 39 She said that the specific deliverables don't seem to match up with the overall purpose of the <br /> 40 study. She said that the overall purpose of the study is to look at how this will affect the new jail <br /> 41 discussion. She reviewed the deliverables and said that what is missing are the performance <br /> 42 measures. She said that there should be a specific assessment or measure of the models and <br /> 43 how they relate. She said there needs to be a re-working of the prospectus to show how it <br /> 44 meets the questions set out, and it needs to show the performance measures. <br /> 45 Commissioner Pelissier said the primary goal is to look at how each programs can <br /> 46 minimize the number of jail beds. She said this is the primary outcome measure. <br /> 47 Commissioner Pelissier said she attended a conference in Buncombe County, where <br /> 48 the jail has in-house drug case management. She said this saves money by preventing future <br /> 49 arrests. She said this proves it is not just about jail diversion programs but also what can be <br /> 50 done during incarceration to prevent future arrests. She said that mental health services are <br />