Reno
County Jail ProjectA letter from Sheriff Randy Henderson to the citizens of Reno County concerning the Reno County Jail project.
In February 2005, the Reno County
Commission and Hutchinson City Council decided that it was time to look
into building a new Judicial Center to house a new jail, the Hutchinson
Police Department and Reno County Sheriff’s Department, 6 courtrooms for
the District and Municipal Courts, and the District Attorneys office.
Treanor Architect from Topeka and Carter Goble Associates from South
Carolina were commissioned to conduct a space needs assessment at a cost
of $80,000. The conclusion of this assessment determined there was a need
for better security in the Courthouse, Law Enforcement Center and the
jail. They even made a specific statement in reference to the jail and
problems in it. The last line in the jail assessment says, “This jail
should be replaced as soon as possible before a serious incident occurs
that could not only jeopardize life safety, but also result in serious
financial consequences for the County if a lawsuit should occur.” This
is a pretty strong statement and comes from a representative of Carter
Goble, who had no financial incentive for us building a new jail.
A
16 person citizens committee was appointed by the City and County
Commissions to review the study and to work with the management from the
stakeholders in this project.
After
meeting for over 6 months, the committee recommended that a new Judicial
Center be built to house all of the departments mentioned before. They
also recommended 2 sites to the Reno County Commission for the Judicial
Center. Original estimates for this entire project were approximately $31
million.
After
receiving this recommendation, Reno County Commissioners decided that it
was not prudent at this time to pursue all of the space needs, and
narrowed the scope of priorities to building a new jail and remodeling the
existing law enforcement center.
The
original 16 person committee was divided into four specific committees to
look at:
1)
How best to finance a new jail / LEC project: Finance Committee
2)
Where to build the new jail: Site
Committee
3)
What the design layout for the new jail should be: Design
Committee
4)
How to inform the public of the need for this project:
Public Relations Committee
Following
are the recommendations of the Finance and Site Committees to the Board of
Reno County Commissioners.
Finance Committee
Funding
of the project, which has a cost estimate of $17 – 21 million, should be
with a .25% sales tax increase.
·
Should sunset in
approximately 11 years.
·
25 cents per
$100.00 worth of groceries. $50.00 on a $20,000 vehicle.
·
Paid for by
everyone that purchases any goods or services in Reno County. (As opposed
to Property Taxes which are only paid by persons owning property in Reno
County.)
You have a choice as to whether you purchase the goods or not.
Site Committee
The
site selected for recommendation is the current site of the Reno County
Health Department, directly north of the current Courthouse.
·
Reno County has
been offered an opportunity for the Health Department to move to the Trade
Center building at 16th and Lorraine if purchased by Health
Care Inc.
o
No Rent.
o
$400,000 allowance
to help remodel.
o
Reno County would
pay $35,000 in property tax for approximately two years until the building
is completely occupied by tax exempt entities.
o
Combines Reno
County Health Department, Prairie Star Health Care and Horizons Mental
Health, all into one location.
·
EMS station #2
would be relocated. Several possible sites have been mentioned.
Why do we need a new jail and better
security in the Law Enforcement Center?
· Bedspace
– Bedspace is not currently driving this issue, however it has in the
past.
o 162 beds in two
facilities. 82 in the main jail and 80 at the jail annex.
o Have housed 180 in
past but populations are down possibly due to new legislation. (SB 123)
o No room for peaking
on weekends.
o No room for
expansion.
o No room or
flexibility in current design to separate and classify of inmates.
o Not only bad people
go to jail and I can’t guarantee separation.
·
Inmate
security is seriously compromised
o Lack of adequately
sized and configured cell housing areas.
§ Limited classification ability
§ Limited disciplinary action
§ Limited segregation
for medical, mental health or detoxification
§ Only 6 single
occupancy isolation cells.
o Lack
of adequate site lines in housing areas for continuous observation of
inmates.
§ Leads to fights, sexual assaults and contraband
· High possibility of lawsuits stemming from not conforming to American Corrections Association standards for:
o
Square footage
o Ventilation
o Lighting
o Exercise time
· Staff
Safety
o
Staff not only
faces issues developed by the lack of site lines and the inability to
classify inmates correctly, they have additional safety and security
issues.
§
Physical exposure
danger for staff in catwalk area, which must be entered several times per
day.
§
Design effects
proper use of security zones and security perimeters.
§
Possibility of
lawsuits filed by employee / surviving family members.
·
Security of
General Public
o
The
internal and external security of these 2 jail facilities relates directly
to security of our community.
o Besides security concerns because of a possible escape, there are also
§ Security issues in
the Law Enforcement Center and the Courthouse dealing with the movement of
inmates to court. This is not only a concern for the safety of the public
at large, but also the safety of inmates and officers moving them.
·
Health Issues
o The heating,
ventilation and air conditioning duct work for the jail is contaminated
with raw sewage. The duct work is insulated on the inside and can not be
cleaned.
o
All persons in the
Law Enforcement Center are exposed to the air that is circulated through
the jail and are exposed to the same health risks as the inmates and
staff.
While
you may not have concern for the living conditions of prisoners of the
Sheriff, please remember that staff who wish to retire from a career in
corrections will be exposed to these conditions for 20 years.
Sheriff
Randy Henderson
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