Minutes 02-05-2019 Regular Meeting

Browse Search

38 Travis Myren said that would be a policy decision by the Board of County Commissioners, and staff is not proposing this choice. He said the only way to realize the savings is to reduce the personnel costs. Commissioner McKee clarified that dropping the 40 beds would essentially put the jail at its current population, and he wonders why the County would ever build a facility for the current population. Travis Myren said that is a judgment call, and today there are 81 inmates in the jail. He said that number fluctuates and, of those 81 inmates, 82% are there on felony charges. He said staff is working to get the pre-trial number as small as possible, but there is still a larger group of inmates there on larger charges. Commissioner Marcoplos reiterated why he supported the number of beds: he said the last thing he would want is for the County to find itself over capacity 10, 20, 30 years down the line. He reaffirmed his support for 144 beds. He referred to the sallyport, and said it is near the entrance. He too voiced concern about the razor wire, but said it seems the razor wire may not be necessary. He said he spoke with the Sheriff last week, who mentioned that the sallyport is a fallback containment area in the case of an emergency evacuation of the building. He said he wonders what impact it may have if this capability were not an option. Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the area could be used for evacuation if there was a fence with a roof over it. Sheriff Blackwood thanked Travis Myren for the work he has done. He referred to the difference of brick versus fence, and said the County made a promise to the community that they would design this facility to look unlike a jail. He said it is important to keep this promise when at all possible. He said the ability to pull into an enclosed brick structure to unload and load inmates is critical, and is one that he can work around. He said he has a team of committed staff that will make whatever work, wherever. Sheriff Blackwood said ultimately this is a cost issue, and it is a decision to be made by the BOCC. He said the BOCC will either be remembered for doing this really right, or really wrong. He said he and Commissioner Price visited Buncombe County, which is a bigger county. He said he does not necessarily want to be a big county, but does want to be a safe county. He said he will support any type of fence structure, as long as it is done right. Commissioner Marcoplos asked if landscaping could make the entrance more aesthetically pleasing. Blair Bordeaux said landscaping could hide it somewhat, but it will still look like a fence. He said a fence is also somewhat of a security issue, as it maintains a line of sight, as opposed to an enclosed structure. Commissioner Dorosin said his position is to reduce the size the facility, and he sees no reason to house federal inmates at all. He said the smaller facility is manageable and reasonable. He said funds are being put into diversionary programming, and Orange County is not growing that fast. He said given the savings that this change would produce, this is one of the changes the Board should make. He said he would not support postponing the other projects, especially the EAC. He said if these projects are postponed, he doubts they will ever get built. He said if the philosophy is that these buildings can be done later, then he thinks the same philosophy should apply if an expansion is needed on the jail at a later time. He said the EAC is in poor shape, and putting money into it is a waste. He said the current EAC sits on the most valuable piece of property that the County owns, and leaving it as the EAC is the lowest and worst use of this land. Commissioner Dorosin pushed option 3 with an inclusion of reducing the facility by 40 beds. He said he would still support option 3 if the Board does not want to reduce beds. Commissioner Bedford said she is concerned about the capital budget in general, but a delay in the build will only cost more later, which is true with every project the Board must fund.