(Clarinda) -- Page County officials continue the trek of finding a suitable proposal for a new county jail.
During its regular meeting Tuesday morning, The Page County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation including several proposals from representatives of Samuels Group on the ongoing jail study. The recommendations follow an assessment of the current jail, primarily concerned with the inability to properly house and care for inmates and building conditions. Greg Wilde is a business development manager with Samuels Group. Wilde says the new facility would require roughly 12,000 gross square footage to house inmates and other necessary elements, including office space.
"The jail housing is intended to get to a capacity of 35 inmates, so we're not doubling the capacity of the proposed jail if you were to do so," said Wilde. "But we would do some double-bunking, we would have multiple pods, and we would also have some dedicated spaces for exercise and activity programs."
Other proposals from Wilde included adding 5,300 square footage for a new sheriff's department, 1,200 for 911 and dispatch, 2,600 for emergency management, 3,200 for the Clarinda Police Department, and 1,500 in shared space--suitable for an over 26,000 square foot need. In addition, Wilde says another roughly 27,500 square footage is needed in the exterior area if all departments are included.
From estimates made on April 28, Wilde says the jail and new sheriff's department would be roughly $12.5 million, including soft costs such as architectural fees and a 10% contingency. But, he adds that the price could vary depending on the addition of other departments.
"If you were to add the costs of all those county proposed areas--911 and emergency management--into that, it adds just over $2 million, so it would get you to $15.2 (million)," said Wilde. "If you were to add Clarinda Police Department it's just another $2 million. So, somewhere between $12.5 to 17.5 million."
If the county pursued a $15.2 million general obligation bond, based on the average residential household value in the county, Wilde says it adds roughly $58.82 per year in property tax--or $5.84 a month.
However, Supervisor Jacob Holmes says an option he favors is just constructing a jail, which costs around $9.4 million.
"If we did that option, the current sheriff's department building and old jail is still there, and the old jail would make a wail of an evidence storage place, and the offices would have more room and the kitchen and everything," said Holmes. "I kind of like that option of just looking at (the jail), and building on a site you can add on if you want some day."
While saying he isn't opposed to a two-site operation, Samuels Group Owner Sid Samuels says staffing of both sites might outweigh the potential savings upfront.
"Really over a 20-year bond period, your staff costs are going to be far more expensive than the cost of the actual capital investment," said Samuels. "I would continue to vet this out in regards to staff needs so you don't do something that costs you additional staff and ultimately costs taxpayers more in the long-haul."
With a consolidation, Samuels says it would ease the sheriff's department, which often doubles as jail staff, and allow for the deputizing of dispatchers. Samuels also recommends building on a roughly five-to-eight acre property to allow all departments, if needed, and any future expansion.
The board took no formal action. But action is expected at next week's regular meeting to enter into the schematic design phase, including determining which departments will be included and looking at potential properties to put the facility.
