Agenda - 09-20-2018 8-a - Minutes

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22 1 Jamie Sykes said yes, and he has seen it as high as 192 about 12-15 years ago. 2 A Deputy said he remembers the number being as high as 210, but that was prior to 3 measures being put in place to bring numbers down. 4 Jamie Sykes said he also remembers the total being 18. 5 Commissioner Rich asked if clarification could be given about the classifications: how 6 many cells would be for men and women, etc. 7 Jamie Sykes said there are many classifications, which will be discussed more during 8 the design phase. He said there may be juvenile detainees, who must be kept separate; Prison 9 Rape Elimination Act (PREA), with which the County cannot currently comply; violent offenders; 10 pretrial detainees; higher risk inmates, etc. He said how this plays out in the design phase will 11 fall under certain state and federal guidelines. 12 Commissioner Rich asked if the classifications could interfere with how many inmates 13 can be housed, due to having too many inmates of one particular classification. 14 Jamie Sykes said if it is not fully considered during the design phase, or the flexibility of 15 the building itself prevents staff from being able to do accommodate classifications, then yes, it 16 could be a problem. He said there are many options from a design standpoint that should be 17 able to prevent this being a problem. 18 Commissioner Burroughs clarified that 136 inmates would save 8 beds and $200,000. 19 Chair Dorosin said he would be interested in an amount smaller than the 136-inmate 20 capacity, and these studies do not take into account other factors such as diversionary 21 programming, raising the minimum age, thus removing 16 and 17 year old from the adult 22 system, as well as other changes. He said he would like to go as low as 120 beds, and this is 23 an opportunity to reflect the policy efforts, that have been made, in the construction of this 24 facility. 25 Commissioner Rich said it will be more costly to build on later, and she is comfortable 26 with 136 and 144 beds. 27 Chair Dorosin said there are policy considerations, and this Board and this community 28 are interested in looking at other alternatives to incarceration. He said the fiscal side is one 29 thing, but the extra beds are a disincentive to all the work being done by stakeholders in the 30 field of restorative justice, and are an incentive to take on more federal prisoners. He said this 31 prison could reflect this community's commitment to alternative practices for the next 100 years. 32 Commissioner Marcoplos said it would be a big mistake to put money in a facility and 33 run out of space before the building is very old. He said in terms of reflecting the Board and 34 local values, how the County deals with people that run afoul of the law should be rooted in the 35 County's belief system and not the availability of cells. He said keeping people out of jail should 36 not be motivated by a lack of space, but rather because the County believes in a system that 37 rehabilitates and steers people back into productive life. 38 Chair Dorosin said keeping the jail is not a backhanded way to keep people out of jail, 39 but rather is a reflection of the local values. 40 Commissioner Marcoplos said extending the life of the building is the most financially 41 responsible thing to do, and continue to use the community's authentic philosophy to keep 42 people out of it. But at least the building would last. He said he is leaning toward the 144 43 capacities, erring on the side of more capacity now while it is cost effective to do so. He said he 44 does not see this number being at all incompatible with local values. 45 Commissioner Price said she is more in line with Chair Dorosin's thinking, and would 46 prefer to get treatment for people rather than lock them up. She said she prefers a capacity of 47 136 or 128. 48 Commissioner Jacobs said he is thinking about Southern Human Services Center, 49 which opened 20 years ago, and the Board at that time chose not to include a dental clinic in 50 order to save money. He said the current Board is now planning to add a dental clinic, which